Music Based Friendship
by Zim's-Best-Friend
Summary: Abused and friendless, Ember is a 10 year old girl that is put through a horrible life each day. Her only wish, to have at least one person accept her. Maybe she'll get that in that new green kid named Zim. First Fanfic. ZimxOC OLD!
1. Chapter 1

OK, so this is my first Fanfic…so if I do something wrong, please be nice about it. I' am not an A+ student in English, but I' am not an F student either…so enjoy -

**Disclaimer: Invader Zim belongs to Nickelodeon and Viacom; I am not claiming that I own it (I wish!) neither am I claiming to own the future songs. The only character I own is Ember**

**WARNING! : This fanfic could get pretty violent! Possible Blood and gore also some strong language….since I' am a pretty messed up person. **

Chapter 1: The life of a sad girl. (In Ember's POV)

Friendless, lonely, and abused; yeah, something you wouldn't want to hear from a 10 year-old girl. Well...It's true, I know depressing right? Well lets explain the friendless part first, I' am not well liked at the skool I go to. People find me to be a freakish loser, which I probably am, but that still gives them no right, like the skool even cares.I've reported harassment issues and incidents to the office countless times, but all I get is a "Thank you for telling us, it will be taken care of."

Yet all that happens is a warning, then I get beat up by the cliques for being a "snitch". Usually it's one person, Torque Smacky, who apparently is their "bodyguard" with the girls shouting encouragements to Torque. Now I' am to afraid to do anything but keep to myself and stay as quiet as humanly possible.

Well I guess I just explained the lonely part too, I 'am so afraid and quiet that I can't talk to anyone. Oh yes, now for the abused part, you see, I live with my now single father, a not very nice person if you can't tell 's almost never home,well not during the day since he sneaks out in the early morning, my guess to either go to work early (doubt it) since I don't even know where he works, or possibly go to the bar across town to get drunk comes home at around 9:30 P.M, expecting me to have dinner ready on the table, and in my room, of course he's usually drunk, and still wanting to fight with someone, which is usually me.

He asks me very particular questions, and demands an answer. I remember, one night he asked me "Why do you think I' am so damn depressed?" I also remember not thinking before answering "I don't know…bad day at work?" Then he said…well yelled, "NO! It's because of you! If I wasn't forced to support you, I wouldn't be so god damn stressed all the time!" With that he pushed me…hard, sending me backyards, I tripped and hit my head on the bottom step of the old staircase.

I needed four stitches in the back of my head, and you know he wasn't so happy about paying for the neighbors are very suspicious of him, they keep an eye on the both of us, which I appreciate…but they go so far as to spy on us.

I don't think they care about my welfare, but the welfare of their children, since a rumor has spread that he'll do whatever it takes to release his 's true, but he won't dare touch another person's child…in his eyes, they didn't "cause him pain" like I did.

I still don't know what he's talking about, my guess is that it's something to do with my mother. Who at first, I thought died giving birth to me, but soon realized that it was impossible, since there were pictures of the three of us, when I was about 6 months old, in my father's room.

She is, or was beautiful, long light blond, slightly curly hair, icy blue colored eyes, and such a gentle face, in every picture (about 3) she's smiling down at me, or up at my father.

Well I guess I should describe what I look like, I 'am the typical looking 10-year-old, meaning short. I have shoulder length, dark brown hair, slightly one thing that truly stands out are my eyes, my left eye is a regular dark brown color, my right, a beautiful icy blue. When my father is taking his anger out on me, he never hits the right side of my face, the one with the blue eye for some reason.

Maybe because it reminds him too much of my mother. Not that he would tell me.I' am also not what you'd call a girly girl.

I wear a black, long sleeved shirt with a white dragon icon on it. Normal blue jeans, they're a little baggy and are split on the ends from getting them caught in a chain-linked fence from running away from Torque. I also have a black hoodie, that I wear even if its 90 degrees outside, but that's just who I am.

I don't wear make-up, I don't wear skirts, and I don't carry a purse, or have a cell phone. Not that I care what other people have, that stuff is just way too flashy. Another reason why I 'am a freak, I 'am also a book lover.

At recess, instead of risking injury with kickball or playing on that metal death trap they call a "jungle gym", I sit in the shade with a book. Usually a ghost or romance book since I love those kinds of genres, especially romance. Most kids my age think that stuff is "scary" or "gross". Not that I care what they think...I just like it. I also read at a high skool level.

I'm also pretty skinny, not malnourished, I guess because I don't eat, or even like junk or fast food. I don't diet, and I don't exercise more than I normally would, I just don't really care what weight I'm at. Mostly because I'm not out to "impress" the boys. If a boy likes me, he should like me for who I am, not for what I look like. I know...pretty impossible right? Plus I don't intend to work harder for something that a 10 year old shouldn't even be worrying about. I'll stick to worrying about learning how to take my father's blows, and dodging the cliques and Torque, and save trying to look like a prostitute for high skool.

Right now I'am looking up at those beautiful stars, and wishing to have at least one friend. Not someone that will judge me by my looks or what I like, or take advantage of me for my more than average book smarts. Just someone who will be there for me, like I would be there for them, or make me forget about my sad life and make me think of a brighter and happier future.

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Hopefully you liked the first chapter...I'll try to update soon.


	2. The Dream Begins

Ok, time for chapter 2, which I' am hoping will be longer.

Once again (not sure if I should put this in ever chapter…but here it goes) **Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, or its characters, I am not claiming that I do.**

Chapter 2: The Dream begins. (3rd person)

It was yet another normal day, Monday morning to be exact. Outside that is, on the inside it was another day for another lecture of how we're all doomed by the horrid teacher, Ms. Bitters. As the bell rang, one thing went through Ember's mind, 'Oh great, another torture filled day'. As always Ember got to class early, to avoid the pushing and shoving, noisy crowd of went directly to her seat in the back, right corner where no one would notice her and she would basically disappear.

She sat down, digging through her worn out backpack she pulled out a book, 'Demons in the shadows'. A book she had recently checked out from the library, and began reading. As the students began to come in, she buried her face more and more into the book, trying not to be noticed.

Unfortunately, the strategy failed, a purple haired girl named Zita noticed her."Hey! Whattcha reading?" Zita said as she walked over to Ember and grabbed her book. "Come on Zita, that's not funny." Ember said calmly, she knew that if she yelled and fought that it would just attract more attention.

Zita tossed the book roughly back onto Ember's desk, as if disgusted by it, "You and your obsession with demons and ghosts! Honestly, you're worse than Dib!".

Feeling already fed up, Ember said in a slightly angered voice, "Well that's just your opinion." she said as Zita began to walk off.

Hearing this, Zita stopped for a second, and then continued to walk to her desk, saying "Whatever, Freak." Getting her place back in her book, Ember sighed softly, 'Why can't I ever have a moment's peace?' she thought.

The mention of Dib got her mind off her book, Dib, a boy just as misunderstood as she was. Too bad he was too obsessed with the paranormal andsometimes being a real jerk to notice someone who could be his friend. 'Dib, someone who should just chill every once in a while...'.She thought as she finished the 2nd chapter, and at that the tardy bell rang. 'Perfect timing' she thought as she put her book away and got out her ridiculously big text book.

She looked around, noticing every seat but one filled, that one seat being the opposite to hers, in the front row, left corner. 'I wonder what happened to that kid.' she thought. Though didn't really want to think about why, or what happened to him.

She laid her head on her desk, over her hands, and looked out the window.'What a beautiful day, too bad I won't be able to enjoy it for another 3 hours…' but her thoughts were shattered by Ms. Bitters' announcement of a new student."Class, I would like to introduce the newest, hopeless appendage to the student body. His name is... Zim. Zim, if you have something to say, say it now, because after this moment, I don't wanna hear another sound from you!" she yelled to the new student who already looked nervous. "Hello, friends. I am a perfectly normal human worm baby. Just pay no attention to me, and we should get along just fine".

Ember lifted her head up at this, and started to pay more attention to him as if put into a trance, she looked around to see everyone except Dib looking bored and uninterested.

As what she could tell, Dib was pointing, and probably had a weird look on his face, most likely due to the fact that Zim had green skin. Zim took the empty seat, and Dib started off with this "Zim's an alien" speech. Then Zim tried to explain his appearance for being a skin condition.

Ember believed it, she wasn't one to judge or ask personal questions or a doctor so she couldn't really disprove it, but it wasn't enough for Dib who questioned Zim not having ears and just going on and on.

Finally Ember just couldn't take it anymore "Come on Dib, it could be true, you can't really prove that he is an alien just because he looks different." she said, wanting Dib to just leave Zim alone. Dib glared at her as with all the other kids, they all turned around with dirty looks on their faces and the classroom fell into a complete silence.

Ember, who was already feeling defeated and intimidated, scrunched down into her seat, like a fear stricken turtle. Dib keeping that death glare on her, took his seat in the front desk of the row she was in. Zimturned around and stared at her for a while, not impressed, not annoyed, just curious as to see what she'd do next.

Ember sat up, some how feeling braver, and looked at him. She smiled slightly and waved, at this Zim looked confused and turned around. For the rest of the day Dib did nothing but stare at Zim, Zim just kept his full attention on what Ms. Bitters said, which was a little scary. "Doom, Doom, Doom, Doom; Go home now!" Ms. Bitter said while getting up, then pretty much slithered out of the room.

Ember put her things in her backpack and walked out the door, while most of the other students jumped out the window.

She looked around, not only trying to avoid the "popular" girls, but also looking for Zim. 'This could be my chance to make a friend.' she thought as she walked through the main entrance. She got there just in time to see Dib chase Zim down the street with a pair of what looked like handcuffs. 'Why can't he just leave him alone?' Ember thought.

She wanted to chase after them, but soon found herself in a fight of her own; Torque was waiting for her behind the corner. "HEY! Where do you think you're going?" she heard as she jumped off the last few stairs, that mocking, jock type of tone was hard to miss. She turned around and saw Torque coming towards her, lifting weights as usual.

He grabbed her by the front of her shirt, "I asked you a question!" he yelled in her face. She turned her head away from him and stayed quiet for a minute, "Trying to get home" she finally said out of fear. "You're such a loser" he said throwing her down.

Feeling the aftershock of being thrown, Ember stayed, and then tried to get up. Only to be kicked into the tree behind her, it was painful, but she had been through worse.

Torque was hitting on Jessica, the most popular girl in skool, or so she thought. Ember saw her chance; she got up slowly, leaning on the tree trunk, and with all her strength, kicked Torque into the dirt.

As he was getting up, he was knocked out cold with the weight he was lifting that was thrown into the air on impact, which fell directly on his head. Jessica, being the coward that she was ran off, to go flirt with some other good looking boy no doubt.

Ember walked away, she didn't know what came over her, but she was glad she gave Torque what was coming to him, even though she'd pay tomorrow. Ember walked down the street, seeing no sign of Zim or Dib. Rounding the corner, she heard a "HA! See ya later Dib!" from Zim then seeing him get pulled off the fence he was hanging on by a dog and into a yard. "ZIM!" Ember yelled, she crossed the street and crawled through the bushes to the yard.

She saw Zim trying to wrestle the dog away from him; she went around the two, crept up behind it and grabbed the dog from behind, dragging it away from Zim. "Go! I can't hold it forever!" Zim nodded and crawled through the bushes, he was pretty beat up.

She saw Dib jump onto the fence, obviously looking for Zim, "Dib! Get away!" she yelled losing her grip on the dog.

Zim pushed Dibinto the yard right as the bog broke free, tackling Dib. Ember couldn't help but smirk as she ran past the two, not sure if she could get lucky again and not get mauled herself, she crawled through the bushes. 'Oh well, Dibneeds a serious attitude adjustment anyway' she thought, she got back on her feet, hoping that Zim got away.

Only to see a green dog grab him and fly him away, 'That was…pretty cool' she thought while walking the same direction down the street to her home, not wanting to question it. About two minutes later, Dib ran past her, following the trail of smoke left behind seeing that it lead to a very unusual looking house.

Ember watched as he ran up the walkway to the green, glowing house, then having his alien handcuffs or whatever they were being destroyed by a laser coming from one of the gnomes in the yard. 'Wait….lasers?' she thought it was weird, but that was it. As long as Dib gave up and went home, which he did.

Ember turned around walking out of the cul-de-sac, and continued to walk to her house, which was still 5 blocks away, when she spotted something on the ground and picked it up, realizing it was a 30GB Zune; she looked around and saw no one.

Strange, Zune's were pretty expensive, and this one seemed to work just fine. It had a few marks on the screen, but nothing that couldn't be cleaned off. She once again looked around, and again saw no one, she continued down the street, looking at all the songs.

(if you're curious as to what a Zune is, it's like an iPod, only an MP3 and holds more songs)

Most of the songs she didn't know, but she was always willing to try something new. Walking up the walkway, Ember opened the door, trying to ignore the annoying sound of the creak it made; she walked up the stairs to her room.

Just as always, seeing no sign of her father, she made it to her room and closed the door. Digging through her small closet, she found a pair of headphones. She didn't even know why, how or when she got them, but who cares.

She sat on her bed, looking for a song….then letting her mind wander when she picked a love song. She sat back, against the backboard of her bed and just as every night, looked up at those beautiful, small lights in the sky called stars.

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That's it of Chapter 2….now I really need to get started on my book report.


	3. A Day to Remember

YAY! I'm finally able to type chapter 3…stupid computer has been slow all day. So…here it goes.

**I do not own Invader Zim, which belongs to Viacom and Nickelodeon. Nor do I own any of the songs. I am not claiming that I do.**

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Chapter 4: A Day to Remember.

The next morning, Ember walked downstairs and out into the strangely cold day. She looked around, hoping Torque or any of her classmates weren't around, well…maybe except Zim. Seeing no one, she took out her newly found Zune, and picked a song called Breathe (2am) by Anna Nalick.

_2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,  
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?,  
I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season"_

Ember liked this song, she had never heard it before, but she liked it. She kept listening to it, though alert to anyone around her. As she came closer and closer to that dreadful skool that seemed to grow more dreadful with each passing day.

_Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes  
Like they have any right at all to criticize,  
Hypocrites. You're all here for the very same reason_

Those last lyrics made her think of the skool, as if putting the image into her mind of the skool and how it was more like a prison than a place for learning.

'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table  
No one can find the rewind button, girl.

She rounded the corner, almost tripping on that spooky looking Chihuahua that seemed to show up anywhere.

_So cradle your head in your hands  
And breathe... just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe_

She pulled the hood on her hoodie up, since it seemed, as she got closer and closer to the skool, it got colder. She saw a flash of lightning in the distance and heard a large boom a few seconds later.

May he turned 21 on the base at Fort Bliss  
"Just a day" he said down to the flask in his fist,  
"Ain't been sober, since maybe October of last year."

Ember slowed down a bit, suddenly thinking of her father, but soon shook off that thought. But found herself staring into space, as if in a trance, yet trying not to think about her father. Something flashed behind her, knocking her out of her trance-like state. Realizing that it was just lightning, she walked on.

_Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while,  
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles,  
Wanna hold him. Maybe I'll just sing about it._

This brought Zim to her mind, making her want him as a friend even more. Maybe even more as a friend, but this was really no time to think, as it was almost time for skool to start.

Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.  
No one can find the rewind button, boys,  
So cradle your head in your hands,  
And breathe... just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe

There's a light at each end of this tunnel,  
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out  
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again  
If you only try turning around.

2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song  
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,  
Threatening the life it belongs to  
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd  
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud  
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to

Slithering into the shadows of the skool, Ember made her way into the building unnoticed. Keeping her hood on, she walked through the hall. Staying as silent as ever, though still listening to the song.

But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table  
No one can find the rewind button now  
Sing it if you understand.  
and breathe, just breathe  
woah breathe, just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe.

The song ended right as she got into class, and right when the bell rang. Ember took off her hood, then the headphones, wrapping the cord around the Zune. Then putting it into a pouch on the side of her backpack, and sliding it under her seat. She sat down and once again rested her head on the desk and looked outside.

The sky grew grayer and the wind picked up, spreading several leaves and litter around the playground. She could hear the shuffling of feet enter the classroom and the sound of someone approaching her. She continued to look out the window.

Zita grew impatient at being ignored by Ember, usually just saying something rude then walking away she decided to do something different. She grabbed some blue paint from a nearby desk, grabbed Ember's hood and poured nearly the entire bottle into her hood. Before Ember could pull away, Zita pulled the hood roughly over her head. Letting go, she laughed and said "Hey Ember! I think that's a much better look for you!" laughing again, she walked away and took her seat behind Zim.

Zim was the only one who wasn't laughing, other than Dib; who was almost always late and wasn't there. Immediately, he recognized her as the one who helped him the day before, also noticing that she had tears in her eyes. Zim turned away 'These filthy humans will be the downfall of their own species. ' he thought.

The day went on; Ember managed to get most of the paint off, and stayed quiet. The lunch bell rang causing most of the students to cheer and run out into the halls like a stampede of buffalo. Zim and Ember were the only ones left, Zim began observing Ember.

Wiping away some of her tears, Ember picked up her backpack and walked out, not really noticing Zim. In her rush to get outsid the Zune fell out, and crashed to the ground. Something that Ember also didn't notice.

After Ember left, Zim walked over and picked it up, looking at it and turning it over to the screen. Putting it into his pak, Zim thought 'Strange that the filthy human would leave something behind.' Then walking out himself.

Ember, not feeling very hungry, walked outside. Most children were playing kickball and on the "jungle gym", despite the strong winds.

She sat down on a bench and pulled out her book, when someone walked up to her and said "HEY FREAK! Put that book down! There's something we need to settle!"

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And there's chapter 3, hopefully I can get chapter 4 up soon.


	4. Breakthrough

YAY! Time for Chapter 4

At first I didn't want to continue this fanfic….but thanks to those who reviewed, I changed my mind ^_^

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs….**

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Chapter 4 (THIS is chapter 4, sorry about the mistake in chapter 3): Breakthrough

Ember looked up, putting her book in her lap, she wasn't surprised. Torque was standing over her, looking madder than usual. "We got something to settle! Right here and right now!" he yelled, making a lot of kids stop what they were doing and look over. Ember just stood there trying to not look afraid, and to tell you the truth, she wasn't. In a calm voice she said "What do we need to settle?" Torque, getting madder, shouted "You know damn what! You made me look like an idiot in front of a hot chick!" Ember, seeing Zim look at her from his cruel game of kickball, got a major surge of confidence. "I don't think you need my help to make you look like an idiot!" she said, almost yelled, standing up. Torque had had enough of this…

He threw a punch at Ember. Not being quite fast enough, Ember ducked and he ended up getting a fist full of splinters. Pulling back, in slight pain, Torque looked surprised. Ember feeling surprised herself, threw a punch at Torque. The punch being pretty weak from Ember never really fighting back, Torque dodged it.

Trying to step back, Ember wasn't quick enough and got hit by a strong punch, hitting her in the right cheek. She fell, falling against the bench behind her. She looked up, seeing Torque standing over her, drawing back a punch, and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, she saw….no one, no Torque, no classmates…no nothing. She slowly got up, feeling her right cheek, and then pulling back from the pain. She felt the wind violently pick up, making her look at the clock up on the building above the door. 'Oh No! I was supposed to be in class 15 minutes ago!' she thought, and then dashed for 's classroom.

was in the middle of giving a lecture when the door cracked open. The class all at once, turned their attention to the now embarrassed Ember as she retreated to her seat.

"Well, I hope you enjoyed your extra recess time…BECAUSE YOU'LL BE MAKING IT UP AFTER SKOOL TODAY!" said, and then yelled. Ember took her seat, looking at her desk then nodded; seeing no point in at least trying to argue.

The class all stared at her, then burst out laughing at the thought of Ember actually being in trouble. She laid her head down on the desk, ignoring the things people said. Looking out the window, she saw raindrops hitting the window, and started to watch the rain come down.

Time passed, and skool let out; it was still raining, in fact the rain was coming down faster. Ember sat there, listening to the rain hit against the glass of the windows, and the roof above her. She looked around, seeing Zim still in the room. As if confused by the rain he stared at the windows, also watching it come down. She watched as his eyes traveled from the window to her. Their eyes met, they stared at each other for at least 2 seconds, and then Zim looked away.

Ember reached down to the side pouch of her backpack; Zim watched as she dug and searched her backpack obviously looking for something. He suddenly remembered the thing she dropped before going to lunch.

"Hey…is this what you're looking for?" he said, holding up the Zune. Ember turned, and looked at Zim, seeing her Zune. She stood up and walked over to him, taking the Zune. "Yeah, thanks….I should be more careful." She said then gave him a small smile.

Zim just stared at Ember, "Yes, you should be…" he was about to say a human insult like Pathetic Human, but decided against it for some reason. He turned around and walked out, turning and disappearing.

Ember went back to her desk, grabbed her backpack, and also walked out of the classroom, seeing that she was there for at least 20 minutes. Getting to the entrance, Ember saw no sign of Zim. 'Wow…he's fast she thought.' She opened the double doors, surprised to see Zim.

He was standing on the steps, underneath the shelter of the SKOOL sign. Ember walked up to him "What? You're not afraid to get a little wet…are you?" she said in a friendly tone. "It's my skin condition EARTH BEAST!" Zim basically yelled.

Ember, who was used to getting yelled at, pulled out an umbrella. She opened it and held it over herself and Zim. "Come on, we can walk together." She said, almost blushing; they started to walk down the cold street together.

Zim kept a suspicious eye on Ember, but since he really had no choice he walked with her. He had burn marks on his face, from trying to see what the rain was, obviously getting a bad result.

Ember saw the marks, "Oh my gosh! Zim are you ok? Those look pretty bad…" she said, stopping. "Yes yes…I'M FINE!" he said in a loud voice. Ember let it go, and continued to walk down the street; the two rounded a corner.

They finally got to Zim's house; and to Zim's displeasure, Gir opened the door.

Gir saw his master, and threw himself right at Zim from pure happiness, giving a squeal of pure joy. Ember was shocked, seeing a green dog pouncing on Zim. 'Hey, that's the same dog that I saw…' she thought.

Zim was struggling to get Gir off, but Gir was having too much fun hugging his master to death to want to let go. Zim turned around; trying to say something to Ember but took a step back and tripped over the porch step.

He crashed in his house, taking Gir with him. Ember rushed in, trying to see in Zim was ok; she stopped on a dime at what she saw.

Zim was getting himself up, after shaking Gir off; his eyes were a solid red and instead of hair, he now had two antennas in its place.

She looked on the ground, seeing two contact lenses and a black wig lying on the floor, and once again looked at Zim.

Zim was now on his feet, having a blank stare on his face, and Gir sitting at his side randomly eating a bag of popcorn.

Ember stayed where she was, too shocked to move or speak....

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*gasp* what will Ember do? Will she run…or will she stay? What about Zim, will he let her in on his little secret? And where did Gir get the popcorn?!

And there's chapter 4, YAY!! Finally some progress!!

Sorry it took so long, I forgot to save yesterday and lost half the chapter…*facepalm*


	5. Hiding Emotion

Hopefully I can finish this chapter in…*looks at watch* 1 hour….

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs…**

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Chapter 5: Hiding Emotion

(Ember's POV)

I stood there…just staring at him…I mean, what could I do? He got up, we stared at each other…neither of us spoke. Even his dog sat still, while eating…popcorn? There was an eerie silence.

Zim finally broke it, "I ummmm….it's my…" but he stopped half way, not knowing what to say. He looked down at the ground, and then at Gir, who looked up at him with an adorable smile on his face.

Not knowing what to say either, I just said what I was thinking. "You….you really are an alien?" I said in a quiet voice. I took a step toward him.

He took a step back, "What are you talking about Earth stink?! I am not a—"He shouted, but was then interrupted by his dog.

"YES YOU ARE MASTER! The taco told me!" it (I guess he) said…then ate a taco he pulled out of the popcorn bag….weird… Zim looked down to Gir with an angry look on his face. "GIR!" he shouted, being ignored by…I guess Gir.

I stayed where I was, I suddenly felt cold from the cold wind coming through the still open door. "It's okay…I won't tell anyone…" I said, hugging myself. Zim walked around me and slammed the door, then turned around and gave me a suspicious look. "How do I know?" he said keeping that look on me.

I turned around, and recovered from hearing the loud SLAM! of the door, a sound I knew all too well…but I held that feeling and locked it up inside me. "Who do I have to tell? You've been here two days…I think that's long enough to see that I'm not well liked. Even if I did tell someone, like my father…I'd be hurt even—"I stopped, I DON'T want anyone to know…

"Good point, I have noticed the cruel way you're treated…" Zim said, losing part of that suspicious look in his eyes. He waited a while before asking "Why ARE you treated like that? Is it because they think you're crazy like the Dib?"

I looked at the ground…"Probably…I'm not sure why they treat me like they do…I guess because I'm different. I'm not into stuff that most girls or kids my age like….and/or maybe they need someone to make them feel better about themselves…" I finally said.

"Humans ARE SO PATHETIC!" he said, making a fist then shaking it. I looked up, looking a little happier "Yeah…and stupid…" I said, and then added "My home life isn't much better…" I wasn't sure why I was saying all this…I don't think Zim really cared.

Zim locked his eyes on mine. 'Was that a hint of concern I saw? NO! I'm just getting desperate…' I thought, and then glanced out the window. It was getting dark.

I gasped and said while running to the door "I gotta go!" I then opened it, walked out; but before I closed it, I turned around and gave him a small smile. I closed the door gently and walked down the walkway and out of the cul-de-sac.

Even though it was raining, I pulled out my Zune and choose a song called "Can't Help falling in love" by A-Teens.

_(I just can't help falling in love with you)_

Wise men say only fools rush in  
But I can't help falling in love with you  
Shall I say would it be a sin  
(Be a sin)

My mind instantly went to Zim, I walked on…paying close attention to the lyrics.

_If I can't help falling in love with you  
Like a river flows (Oooh)  
To the sea (Oooh)  
So it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Some things are meant to be_

I crossed the street, getting far enough on the sidewalk to not be splashed with muddy water from a car passing by on a huge puddle.

Take my hand (take my hand)  
Take my whole life too (life too)  
For I can't help falling in love with you

Wise men say only fools rush in  
But I, I can't, I can't help Falling in love (falling in love) With you (with you)

Like a river flows (Oooh)  
To the sea (Oooh)  
So it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Some things are meant to be

I felt myself running, it was getting darker…and I did NOT want to be on the streets in the dark…

Take my hand (take my hand)  
Take my whole life too (life too)  
For I can't help falling in love with you

_Take my hand (take my hand)  
Take my whole life too (life too)  
For I can't help falling in love with you__[x2]_

Like a river flows  
That's the way it goes  
I just can't help fallin' in love with you  
(Fallin' in love with you)  
Like a river flows (yea yea)  
That's the way it goes(cause I can't)  
Fallin' in love with you  
Like a river flows (I just can't help myself)  
That's the way it goes  
I can't help falling in love with you  
(I can't help falling in love with you)

_Fallin' in love with you_

The song ended, I still had 3 more blocks, but the rain was coming down…and I didn't want the Zune to get wet. I put it in my jacket pocket and continued to run.

I made it to the house, and noticed something…my father was home early.

----Zim's POV---

I watched her as she walked out and left, unsure what to make of the smile…but it seemed innocent enough. I turned around and walked out, walking into the kitchen and flushed myself down to my brilliant lab.

I started typing up a plan to send all of Earth's chickens into orbit…but was interrupted by Gir.

He came crashing in shouting "LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!" He was holding what appeared to be a normal Earth radio….he probably got it from some unsuspecting child. He sat down on the floor, behind me, then turned the thing on.

(Battery powered radio)

A weird song started to play:

_There she goes  
There she goes again  
Racing through my brain  
And I just can't contain  
This feeling that remains_

I stopped typing and looked back at Gir, who was sitting there with a smile his tongue sticking out. I then looked at the radio and started to listen to the song. 

There she goes  
There she goes again  
Pulsing through my veins  
And I just can't contain  
This feeling that remains

Strangely, my mind went to that one human….Ember I think it was. 'She would make a good test subject' I thought, trying to keep out the thoughts and emotions I NEEDED to keep out.

There she goes  
There she goes again  
Racing through my brain  
And I just can't contain  
This feeling that remains

I turned my head and continued to type, though, I still listened to the song. 

There she goes  
There she goes again  
She calls my name,  
Pulls my train  
No one else could heal my pain  
And I just can't contain  
This feeling that remains

There she goes  
There she goes again  
Chasing down my lane  
And I just can't contain  
This feeling that remains

There she goes  
There she goes  
There she goes

It finally ended; Gir turned off the radio, and then walked to my side. "Do you like her master?? Huh…Huh….do ya?!" He asked, making me irritated as usual.

"NO! Of course not!" I shouted back… OH COME ON! Do you really think I'd tell Gir what was on my mind?!

-----

Chapter 5=done! (:

*looks at watch* In…..45 minutess!! YAY!!


	6. A Dark Evening

I really should be doing my biology project…..but I got a week, so why not start chapter 6?

(Never thought I'd get this far…)

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim, the characters (except Ember), or the songs.**

**--------**

Chapter 6: A Dark evening.

Ember slowly crept in, trying to be as quiet as possible. Her father was sitting on the couch in the living room, guzzling down a beer and watching some wrestling show.

'He probably hasn't even noticed I'm not here' Ember thought while trying to sneak up the stairs. She made it up the first 2 steps when she heard….

"Where do you think you're going?!" her father yelled, never taking his eyes off the TV. Ember turned around and said "I was doing extra skool work….and lost track of time." Ember looked towards the ground and stepped off the first step she was on.

Her father took one final sip of his beer before getting up and making his way over to Ember. She stayed where she was, her eyes never left the floor. He came up right to her face, still holding the beer can.

"You come home when you're supposed to come home!" he yelled before punching her hard on the left side of her face.

Ember took it, she stumbled a little, but stood her ground. Her face was stinging, but she could take it. Her father grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her closer to him and whispered in an eerie tone "I Hate You!" He then held her wrist even tighter, and then swung her away from him.

Ember slammed into the door on the other side of the room. She turned around and glared at her father, who was glaring right back. She flew away from the door behind her and made a dash for the staircase.

She almost made it to the top, but was then grabbed by the ankle and dragged down on her stomach. Banging her chin hard on each step; her father dragged her all the way back down. He kicked her hard in the stomach when she finally landed, lying on the ground.

She got pulled up roughly by the hood of her jacket and held tight. "Guess what! I got a week off! So don't think you can sneak past me and give me crap for an excuse! Try to trick me like that again…and I'll do something much worse!"

Her father was almost chocking her; he finally let Ember go. "Get out of my sight you good for nothing whore!" She dropped to the ground, breathing hard and walked slowly up the staircase after grabbing her backpack. She was watched by her father, who had a sly and sick-happy smile on his face.

Ember could hear the creaking sounds of her father walking back to the couch, and the sloppy slurping sounds he made while drinking a new can of beer.

She got into her room, and shut the door calmly. Tossing her backpack to the side of her room, she checked her pocket to make sure her Zune was still there. It was. She tossed that over to her bed, watching as it made it to the side then slide off, making a small thud as it made contact with the floor.

Ember didn't care, she looked back at the cold, wooden floor; she sat down against the door and hugged her knees. She rested her forehead on her kneecaps and started to let the tears fall, streaming down her face.

She cried her eyes out; ignoring the pain when the tears made contact with the bruises starting to take form along her jaw line and chin and left side of her face.

She hugged herself tighter, trying to make herself stop. An image started to replace the thought of fear and pain in her mind.

It cleared, and the thought and image of Zim came to her thoughts. The image of those beautiful red eyes and the thought of him being the friend she's always wished and hoped for. She got up and went to her bed.

Ember sat down and looked out at the stars, trying to count them, but lost track. She took her eyes off them to reach down and pick up her Zune. She looked at the screen, and the images of the stars shining up to her through the screen.

She put in under her pillow, and rested her head on the other end of the pillow. Before she finally closed her eyes to get some much needed sleep; she smiled, thinking of Zim.

Morning came, and the sun shined itself brightly through the window, Ember woke up and sat up. She instantly regretted it, there was a huge bruise on her stomach, where her father kicked her the night before.

She carefully got on her feet; grabbed her Zune and backpack, and then, slowly opened her bedroom door. She heard nothing, except slight snoring sounds coming from her father's room at the end of the hall.

She crept down the stairs and out the door, she made yet another journey to that awful place they call a skool. She looked through the songs on her Zune, stepping in and through the puddles leftover from yesterday's storm.

She was about to pick a song when she heard something. "Ember human!" she heard. Ember looked up and saw Zim standing near the street corner. She looked around and realized she had gotten farther then she realized, but was glad to have made it in time to walk with Zim.

He waited as she sprinted across the street and up to him; however, she had her hood on, trying to hide her injuries. "You forgot this yesterday." He said then handed her the umbrella they used the day before.

"Oh…thanks." She said, taking the closed umbrella from Zim and zipping it away in her backpack. The two walked the rest of the way in silence. Ember felt more comfortable around Zim; however, she felt shy.

They made their way up the steps and through the heavy doors of the skool, then found themselves in Ms. Bitters' classroom, right at the final ring of the bell. Zim took his seat, but he locked eyes with Ember one last time, before Ember looked away.

She walked away from Zim's desk, but Zita caught her. She walked up behind her and grabbed Ember's hood, which was still up.

"Hey! Don't you know that you're not allowed to wear hoods in class?!" She sneered, then pulled the hood down.

Ember turned around and pushed Zita away. She tried to pull her hood back up, but it was too late…everyone had seen her bruises. They were spread all along her jaw line, a lot under and on her chin. But the most noticeable was a huge one on her left cheek, right in the spot where she got punched.

Every student stopped talking and stared at Ember, they were silent. Then Brian shouted "Hey Ember….I guess Torque got you good!" he yelled then busted up laughing. The laughter echoed throughout the classroom, every student was laughing and a few were pointing.

Ms. Bitters was nowhere to be seen; Ember looked over at Zim, a few tears in her eyes. Zim had a horrified look on his face, with unmistakable traces of concern in his eyes.

Tears started to stream down Ember's face, she ran out the door and into the silent hallways. Zim watched her, and then gave a hateful glare at the students behind him. Especially to Zita, who was now sitting in her seat, obviously proud of herself.

He got up, and without saying a word, ran after Ember. The sounds of the laughter echoed through the halls, chasing after him…making his skin crawl.

---------

Hopefully I didn't disturb you a lot….I told you I was messed up…

And for those of you who thought Zim was out of character….I admit he was….but I like it.


	7. A Deal and a Cat Fight

……I ran out of things to say so……on with the chapter (:

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs….I am not claiming that I do….it is but a distant wish of mine….**

**------**

Chapter 7: A Deal and a Cat Fight.

Zim ran through the halls, the sounds of the children's laughter finally behind him. He ran to not only find Ember….but to find the one human he could call a "friend". Okay…maybe friend was a strong word to describe Zim's and Ember's relationship. Even so, Ember was someone that Zim felt he could trust. What choice did he have? She knew his secret and Zim had no way to erase her memory….at least not yet.

Zim walked into the cafeteria, he passed the window and stopped when he saw someone sitting on a swing in the yard. He walked outside, seeing that it was Ember and sat on a swing next to her.

Ember glanced at him, and then looked away. Both her hands were clinging to the chains on either side of her.

"So….is this what you meant when you said your home life wasn't any better?" Zim said, trying to keep his voice low. He looked at Ember, trying to see the bruises on her face. But since most of them were on the left side of her face, he couldn't tell how bad they were.

Ember nodded, she then wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You know…you can look at me. I won't laugh…" Zim said, placing a hand on her shoulder, feeling quite awkward about it. But moved it when he felt Ember jump and move out of his reach.

Ember looked at him, as if scared she might get hurt. Zim sat there, quiet; he sighed and said in an almost uncaring tone "I won't hurt you human…" Ember looked at him, and then looked at the ground.

The two sat there in complete silence for a while, until Ember broke it and said "You know…if you tell me everything about you….I'll tell you everything about me…"

Zim looked at Ember "What joke is this human? Tell Zim!" He yelled, thinking that Ember was trying to trick him. "It's not a joke! And I've told you before who would I tell your secret to? Look what happened when I tried to lie to my dad last night!" She said, and then covered her mouth at the last thing that slipped out of her mouth.

But Zim had heard it, he almost immediately calmed down and said "I see…well I guess I can't really take back what you already know…and I don't quite know how to erase you memory of it…"

Ember looked at Zim and gave him a smile. "At least not yet!" Zim said, breaking Ember's smile and replaced it with a look of worry.

Zim chuckled at this and said "Fine….but it you betray me I will not hesitate in……ummm….doing some sort of test or something horrible to you!" Ember giggled and said "I'll keep that in mind."

The two shook hands at their new agreement then jumped of their swings. "I guess we should go back to class…" Ember said suddenly feeling angry, especially at Zita. Ember flipped her hood back on; and with Zim at her side, walked into the building.

They walked into the classroom; all eyes fell on them. Dib was currently standing up in front of the class, ranting about how Big Foot was real. He was about to say something about Zim when he noticed how angry Ember was. He took his seat.

Ms. Bitters wasn't currently in the room; maybe she just couldn't take the collective smells of the children anymore and had to get out of the classroom…

Ember walked towards her desk, but Zita had other plans. She jumped out of her seat and ran to block Ember. She stopped her and said "I thought you would be smart enough to not come back! Can't you see that you're not wanted here?! "She pointed at Ember, poking her hard.

In one swift movement, Ember grabbed Zita's wrist and twisted it hard. Zita yelped in pain and was surprised at Ember's reaction. She pulled away and threw a punch at Ember.

Ember dodged it, and threw Zita off guard by swinging her foot under Zita's, tripping her. Zita fell, shocked at Ember's new found strength and speed. She quickly got up, and grabbed Embers hood as she was trying to get to her seat.

Ember was pulled back hard; Zita was almost choking her. She reached and grabbed Zita's hair, pulling it hard just like Zita was pulling her hood.

The whole class was all staring, shocked and sickly amused at what they were seeing. They all…well most of them started to shout "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Zim was watching Ember, impressed at what she was capable of.

Dib was also watching; he was glad that he wasn't in the middle of that. He watched as Zita finally let go of Ember and Ember let go of Zita's hair.

Ember let Zita go, already fed up with the class' amusement of it all, but Zita wasn't finished. She was filled with encouragement from the class; Zita grabbed Ember's shoulder and spun her around. She threw a punch, hitting Ember on the right side of her face.

Ember fell; she tried to get up but failed and fell back down. Zita was just about to kick her when she was stopped by a cold, clawed hand on her shoulder. She turned around and met the death glare of Zim.

Zim had had enough; he spoke in a very cold voice "That's enough! You filthy excuse for a living thing!" He had Zita so scared that she immediately went back to her seat.

Zim looked at everyone in the class; they all met his stare and looked away. He then turned his attention to Ember, who was again trying to get up. He helped her to her feet, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her up. Everyone was again watching, Zim didn't care as long as they didn't interfere.

That's when Sara shouted "Looks like Zim has a girl—"but she had the sense enough to stop talking when both Ember and Zim shot her a mean glare. Sara looked down at her desk , obviously put in her place.

The lunch bell rang; everyone got up and walked towards the door, trying to keep as much distance between themselves and Zim.

Dib walked by Zim, meeting his glare; he then looked at Ember, also meeting hers. He walked out, not saying a word.

Zim watched Dib suspiciously as he left, never taking that death glare off his face. Ember looked at Zim and said in a quiet voice "Thank you…" Zim looked at her, then said "Don't mention it…human" He then walked out, with Ember following behind.

Lunch came and went, Zim and Ember both skipped lunch and went straight towards the bench where Ember sat everyday to read. They sat in the shade, enjoying the peace while everyone else sat eating that disgusting stuff they called food in the cafeteria.

"So….why don't you tell me everything about you first?" Zim said, turning to Ember. "Right now? What if someone hears? It's not really something that needs to be exaggerated then spread all over the skool like a rumor." Ember said, getting an unhappy look from Zim. "Can we just wait until we get to your place? …Please?"

Zim sighed and said "Fine….but don't even think I'm gonna tell you anything about me right now!" Ember nodded "I would never ask that Zim, someone else might hear it" then smiled at him.

Zim didn't see the smile; he was now paying attention to Torque and the "popular" girls as they came out, along with some other students.

Torque was about to walk over to Ember but stopped when he saw Zim sitting beside her. He stood there, then stepped back when Zim glared at him; daring him to walk over. Torque finally walked in another direction, getting numerous whines and complaints from the girls wanting to see some action.

Zim smiled a very victorious smile, he was about to say something when the bell rang. Zim got up and walked towards the doors with Ember at his side, she had pulled out her book and was reading.

The rest of the day went by smoothly; no one wanted to really mess with Ember, due to the fact that they didn't want to evoke the wrath of Zim. He watched them, making sure that no one bothered Ember.

Zim and Ember walked to Zim's "house" without any problems. As they got inside, a very happy green dog jumped onto Zim, hugging him.

"I missed you so muuuuch!!!" Gir wailed, and then jumped off Zim when he saw Ember. "Hiiii!!! I saw you yesterday!!" he said in a sort of scary happy tone. He then walked off into the kitchen, then shouted "Waffles!"

Ember stared as Gir left then turned to Zim "Is he okay?" then got a "Trust me…he's never okay…" for an answer. Zim sighed at the thought of his idiotic minion; he then walked towards the couch and sat down.

Ember followed him, sitting a respectable distance away. Zim turned to her and said in an awkward tone "So…..tell me more about you…" Ember turned to him and began.

----------

Wow….this took me 2 days to type up….maybe I should think about taking a typing class…again.

Chapter 8 shall be up soon….I hope.


	8. Snowfall

Wow…I'm getting slower and slower with the chapters…..stupid finals -_-

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Invader Zim or the songs in any way.

Chapter 8: Snowfall.

Ember sat there for a minute, trying to think of a good way to start. She looked over at Zim, seeing an impatient look on his face. She sighed and said, "Well…let's start with…my life is basically horrible..."

Zim lost his impatient look, and suddenly got very interested. Ember continued, "I…have a very strict father…and he's also an alcoholic…" She looked over at Zim, who had a very puzzled look on his face. She looked at him, "You know…he drinks alcohol and is addicted to it. He comes home drunk from it and…that just makes everything worse…"

"So….he's the reason for your horrible life?" Zim asked. Ember looked at him, "Well…he's the start of it. The kids at skool just make it worse." Zim looked away from Ember, her last words hitting him hard. 'I will never be able to understand these filthy humans!' he thought.

Ember looked at Zim, thinking that maybe this was a bad idea. She wanted to just get off the couch and leave…but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Zim turned his attention back to Ember when he realized she had stopped talking. "Well…go on!" he said, once again getting impatient.

Ember looked away from Zim, feeling tears come to her. She didn't want to say anything more, but she wanted to feel like she could actually trust Zim; so she went on. "I'm not like other girls or even like most humans…I'm just not into obsessing over looks and fashion. I could care less about wanting a boyfriend, or make-up. So I'm different in the eyes of the others. They probably think I'm crazy too, I'm not really sure why." She gasped suddenly and looked out the window, it was already getting dark.

Ember jumped off the couch and tried to run to the door, but was caught by the wrist by Zim. "Wait! Where are you going?" He asked, more puzzled then angry; he held her by the wrist tight, but seemed to be trying to be gentle.

Ember struggled for a minute, feeling those same tears come back again. "I need to go! He'll…he'll hurt me if I don't get home right now!" Zim pulled her back, wanting to find out more. She stopped struggling and sat down right next to Zim; tears were streaming down her face.

Ember looked into Zim's eyes, and then looked at her lap. "Please…I need to go. He won't be happy if I'm late again…and I'll get much worse than a few bruises." Zim looked at her; a sympathetic look escaped him as he looked at the beaten side of her face.

Zim released her wrist and said in a soft, almost gentle tone, "Ok…I'll see you tomorrow then…" Ember got up, opened the door but was stopped by Zim's voice. "Let me help you…I can get you home without you having to worry." Ember looked outside; it was pitch black dark out there.

She looked back at Zim, realizing that he was now behind her. "Ok..." She said, letting Zim lead the way down the walk way. She walked beside him, the two once again walking in silence down the empty street.

As they made their way to Ember's house, Zim grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the side of the house. He pointed and whispered "Is that your window?" Ember looked up and answered with a yes.

Zim gave a victorious smile before looking around. Seeing no one, Zim brought the spider legs from his PAK. He grabbed Ember by the waist and pulled up, sending both up high and right next to the window.

Zim released Ember as she grabbed onto the window sill. As soon as she was released, Ember sat on the edge, facing Zim. She turned her head and said "Thanks Zim." Zim gave a small smile; but it was quickly erased when he realized what he was doing.

Without saying a word, Zim lowered himself from the window; he put his spider legs back in and ran for his house. Ember watched as he ran off, she sighed and leapt from the edge of the windowsill to her bed.

Sounds of loud creaking from the stairs came, then the sound of someone walking up to her door. Ember braced herself; she made sure her Zune was still in her pocket before putting it under her pillow. She had already taken her shoes off.

Without much more warning, her father slammed open the door. He pointed at her and said "You! Just have where have you been!" He took a few steps into the room, Ember sat perfectly still on her bed. She stared at her father, before giving a quiet answer. "I've been here since three….I was just quiet coming in."

Her father glared at her, he was about to take another step when he heard the clashing sounds, loud bell ringing, and the loud yelling of an announcer downstairs on the T.V. He gave one last glare at Ember before he walked out and slammed the door shut.

Ember was once again in silence, despite the faint sounds from the T.V downstairs. She waited a few minutes before feeling safe enough to pull out her Zune from its hiding spot. She flipped through the seemed like endless list of songs. She decided on a song called Pieces of Me by Ashlee Simpson.

_On a Monday, I am waiting  
Tuesday, I am fading  
And by Wednesday, I can't sleep  
Then the phone rings, I hear you  
And the darkness is a clear view  
Cuz you've come to rescue me_

She listened, liking the song almost immediately due to the lyrics. She laid back, feeling more relaxed.

_Fall... With you, I fall so fast  
I can hardly catch my breath, I hope it lasts_

_Ohhhhh  
It seems like I can finally rest my head on something real  
I like the way that feels_

Her mind went to Zim; the fact that her dream of having a true friend seemed like it was finally coming to reality.

_Ohhhhh  
It's as if you've known me better than I ever knew myself  
I love how you can tell  
All the pieces, pieces, pieces of me  
All the pieces, pieces, pieces of me_

_I am moody, messy  
I get restless, and it's senseless  
How you never seem to care  
When I'm angry, you listen  
Make me happy, it's a mission  
And you won't stop 'til I'm there_

She giggled a little; those last lyrics made her think of a possible future, with a strong friendship with Zim. Even if the boy was an alien; having him as a friend would be far better than any human.

_Fall... Sometimes I fall so fast  
Well, I hit that bottom  
Crash, you're all I have_

She looked out the window, Zim's red eyes shining in her memory. Then the look of those contact covered eyes lit up with the brightness of the moon and stars.

_Ohhhhh  
It seems like I can finally rest my head on something real  
I like the way that feels  
Ohhhhh  
It's as if you known me better than I ever knew myself  
I love how you can tell  
All the pieces, pieces, pieces of me_

With the earphones still on, Ember sat up and stuck her head out the window. She could see her breath and little snowflakes swirling around in the light breeze and floating down to the ground below.

_How do you know everything I'm about to say?_

_Am I that obvious?  
And if it's written on my face...  
I hope it never goes away... yeah_

She brought her head inside, shivering slightly and closed the window. 'Strange…it was so warm this morning…' She thought; but she did like snow, it made her think of Christmas.

_On a Monday, I am waiting  
And by Tuesday, I am fading into your arms...  
So I can breathe_

Of course, Christmas wasn't any better for her than the other days of the year; but it did give her a good feeling for some reason. And of course there was the snow; yet, just another thing for her classmates to throw at her. But the peaceful look of the snow coming down on a cold dark night made it okay.

_Ohhhhh_  
_It seems like I can finally rest my head on something real  
I like the way that feels  
Ohhhhh  
It's as if you've know me better than I ever knew myself  
I love how you can tell  
Ohhhhh  
I love how you can tell  
Ohhhhh  
I love how you can tell  
All the pieces, pieces, pieces of me  
All the pieces, pieces, pieces of me..._

The song ended, Ember yawned and took off her headphones. She put her Zune under her pillow and laid her head down. She stared out the window, watching the snow fall and the swirls of white when a cold breeze crossed the snow's path.

She felt her eyes closing, she let them close and fell asleep to the thought of a beautiful white Christmas that seemed to never happen. Either the snow melted before the festive holiday, or it fell the day after.

Ember fell into a peaceful sleep as the sun rose slightly over the horizon and the snow stopped.

------

And there's Chapter 8

I wanted to speed up so I could do a Christmas chapter in time for Christmas…


	9. Zim's Turn to Tell His Tale

I feel so pathetic; I had to go back and read my last chapters to get the day of the week right. I usually keep track of stuff like that…and even now, I'm not too sure about the day in real time…..stupid finals -_-

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs in any way.

----

Chapter 9: Zim's Turn to tell his tale.

Thursday morning; Ember awoke to the peaceful sounds of birds chirping. She sat up in bed and looked outside her window; disappointed to find out that none of the snow from last night stayed. She looked away from the window as she got out of bed.

She changed her shirt; basically the same shirt, only instead of a white dragon icon, it had a red one. She grabbed her Zune and walked out of her room. She walked down the stairs and made it to the front door. Her father was asleep on the couch with a beer in his hand and two more empty ones on the coffee table.

Ember walked out, feeling the cold morning and the light breeze that sent chills throughout her face and hands. As she walked, Ember's hands grew numb, even though they were in her jacket pockets. She walked in silence, not really feeling like listening to a song.

She looked up, hearing footsteps coming towards her.

Zim walked up to her, turned and walked beside her. He watched her through the corners of his eyes, and then looked straight ahead. Ember looked at Zim, finally she said "So…we're going to your place after skool…right?"

Zim kept looking ahead, and then said "Sure." His mind seemed to be on something else. They walked the rest of the way in a pretty awkward silence.

The image of the skool came into view; the big SKOOL sign seemed to be glowing an eerie red. Zim and Ember walked up to the front entrance, walked through the hall, and into the classroom.

They were the only ones in there; that was a good thing. Ember took her seat, feeling tired from that late night last night. She sat down and pulled out her Zune, picking a random song.

If we hold on together by Diana Ross started to play.

_Don't lose your way  
With each passing day  
You've come so far _

She looked over at Zim, seeing him working on some sort of machinery.

_Don't throw it away  
Live believing  
Dreams are for weaving _

Ember looked out the window, seeing that small cold breeze pick up and turn into gusts of wind, shaking the thin branches on the trees.

_Wonders are waiting to start  
Live your story  
Faith, hope & glory  
Hold to the truth in your heart _

She saw the other kids still paying in the yard. Looking up at the clock, she saw that there was still another five minutes before the bell rang for class to start. Her eyes went from the clock to Zim, still seeing Zim working on that same thing.

_If we hold on together  
I know our dreams will never die  
Dreams see us through to forever  
Where clouds roll by  
For you and I_

Ember closed her eyes and listened to the song. It made her think of herself, and the now almost come true reality of her friendship with Zim.

_Souls in the wind  
Must learn how to bend  
Seek out a star  
Hold on to the end  
Valley, mountain  
There is a fountain  
Washes our tears all away  
Words are swaying  
Someone is praying  
Please let us come home to stay_

_  
_Zim looked over at Ember, seeing that she had her eyes closed, he wrote something on a piece of paper, waded it up, and threw it at her.

Ember got hit on the forehead; she opened her eyes expecting to see a bunch of kids laughing at her. But, she only saw Zim, she looked at the rolled up piece of paper on her desk. She picked it up and unrolled it, reading what it said.

_  
If we hold on together  
I know our dreams will never die  
Dreams see us through to forever  
Where clouds roll by  
For you and I _

This is what it said:

Ember, I

'm leaving for my base…come along if you wish.

–Zim

Ember looked over at Zim, seeing him get out of his seat; he appeared to be waiting for her. Ember grabbed her backpack and followed Zim out; still listening to the song.

_When we are out there in the dark  
We'll dream about the sun  
In the dark we'll feel the light  
Warm our hearts, everyone _

The bell rang as they left skool property; Ember looked back at the stampede of kids piling up into the skool.

_If we hold on together  
I know our dreams will never die  
Dreams see us through to forever  
As high as souls can fly  
The clouds roll by  
For you and I_

She took off the headphones as the song ended and put her Zune away. She folded up the headphones and also put them in her jacket pocket.

Zim looked at Ember, and then looked straight ahead as her done ten minutes earlier. "I couldn't stand being in that horrible structure while I had a brilliant plan to work on!" Ember looked at Zim, paying attention to what he was saying.

Zim paused for a while, and then said "I didn't think you'd appreciate it if I left without telling you." Ember looked at him, she finally said "Thanks for caring…" Zim looked at Ember, he seemed to lose all anger and said "No problem…besides, I didn't want to leave you alone with those filthy humans."

They walked the rest of the way in silence; walking up the walkway to Zim's house, Ember followed Zim. Zim walked up to the door, two robots opened the door and said "Welcome home son." Zim walked in, Ember followed, she didn't remember seeing those two before…

Zim walked into the kitchen; Gir was on the couch, watching some monkey show. Ember stopped, looking up at the wired ceiling. Zim stopped and looked back at Ember. "Ember human… Come on!……GIR!"

Gir leapt off the couch after having his blue features turn red, he saluted and waited for his orders. "Gir…help the human get to the labs." Zim said, leaving to flush himself down to the hidden chambers below.

Gir turned back to blue, shouting "Okay!" He turned to Ember and grabbed her by the arm. He lead her to the trash can and opened the lid, he waited patiently.

Ember looked confused, but she jumped into the trash can with arms out in front of her. She flew down like as if she was on a 90 degrees straight slide. She was actually enjoying herself, at least, until she hit the bottom.

Ember came crashing to the floor below. She got up and looked around, she was in a huge part of the labs, she looked to a huge screen and saw Zim typing something.

Zim looked to her, he stopped typing. "So…I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" Ember nodded, she looked around in astonishment.

Zim took a few steps towards Ember and said "I am an Irken Invader, I was sent here from my brilliant leaders on a special mission to conquer this pathetic planet and prepare it for the coming invasion of the Armada. I am part of Operation Impending Doom 2, an operation to conquer all planets and have the universe be ruled by the one and only, planet Irk."

Ember looked at Zim; she only had one thing to say "Awesome…" She sat down, leaning against a control board.

Zim was amazed at Ember's response to what he said, but he was also relieved. This means that she wouldn't freak out like Dib would have and that she was trustworthy. He turned back to what he was doing and continued to type.

Ember took out a sketch book from her backpack, she hadn't drawn in a while, but she needed something to do. She took out a pencil and started to sketch a grim reaper looking thing, only with wolf features and the head was looking down.

Gir had come in after Ember, unnoticed when Zim was explaining himself to Ember. He sat down behind Zim, acting strangely calm.

A song started to play.

_We're the best of friends  
And we share our secrets  
She knows everything that is on my mind  
But lately something's changed  
As I lie awake in my bed  
A voice here inside my head  
Softly says_

Zim kept on typing, but he listened to the song. Ember continued to draw, hearing the song but not paying attention to the lyrics.

_Why don't you kiss her  
Why don't you tell her  
Why don't you let her see  
The feelings that you hide  
Cuz she'll never know  
If you never show  
The way you feel inside_

Still listening to the song, Zim stopped typing and turned to watch Ember.

_Oh I'm so afraid to make that first move  
Just a touch and we  
Could cross the line  
And every time she's near  
I wanna never let her go  
Confess to her what my heart knows  
Hold her close_

He smiled as she moved her bangs behind her ear, not noticing Zim watching her and continued to draw. Zim noticed that she was left handed.

_Why don't you kiss her  
Why don't you tell her  
Why don't you let her see  
The feelings that you hide  
Cuz she'll never know  
If you never show  
The way you feel inside_

Those hidden emotions were fighting to come out, but Zim held them in. He was an invader and he didn't need to start having weird human emotions for Ember.

_What would she say  
I wonder would she just turn away  
Or would she promise me  
That she's here to stay  
It hurts me to wait  
I keep asking myself_

_Why don't you kiss her  
Why don't you tell her  
Why don't you let her see  
The feelings that you hide  
Cuz she'll never know  
If you never show  
The way you feel inside_

The light from the monitors were shining on Ember's face, making her seem even more beautiful. Still, she continued to draw.

_Why don't you kiss her (tell her you love her)  
Why don't u tell her (tell her you need her)  
Why don't you let her see  
The feelings that you hide  
Cuz she'll never know  
If you never show  
The way you feel inside..._

Zim got a angered look on his face as he said "Turn it off Gir."

With an "Awwww!!" Gir turned off the radio and walked off with it.

Zim turned to continue working on his next plan to destroy the humans, but his mind stayed one Ember. Ember, oblivious to Zim's feelings continued to draw; now shading some parts of her demonic creation.

------

End…….Just a few things to say…

1) I just realized that Ember doesn't have a charger for her Zune…..let's just say that it charges itself….I mean it is the future right?

2) She has the foldable kind of headphones; I forgot to point it out in earlier chapters.

3) I know, the trash can entrance to the labs leads to an entire different room….but I thought it would have been too awkward for Ember to use the toilet to go down to the labs….but the trash can works fine.

4)And yes…I see that "Why don't you kiss her" By Jesse McCartney doesn't exactly scream out "Zim"…..but I thought it was a good song to point out Zim's hidden emotions….

5) Also....if you want to see what Ember drew.....I drew it myself and put it on my Photo Bucket account (I can't figure out Deviantart) so if you want to see it.....my accout username is Zims-Dragon and the title of the picture is Death Dog.


	10. Special Findings

I finally got some free time to write chapter 10…stupid finals…I don't really see the point of pressuring teenagers so much with these "big" tests….and they wonder why more and more students are giving up…well enough of my senseless ranting; on with the chapter :)

**DISCLAIMER**: I am not claiming that I own Invader Zim or the songs….I know that I don't.

Chapter 10: Special Findings.

Ember felt herself getting tired; she put down her pencil and sketchpad and walked over to Zim. She stood next to him, watching as he typed a strange language. "Zim, what time is it?"

Zim stopped typing and looked at Ember. "About 6:30…why?" Ember looked at Zim, a scared look on her face. "Zim, I need to get home…it might be too late to use that same excuse as last night…"

Zim looked back at the different shaped monitors. He looked back at Ember, clearly trying to think of a plan. He grabbed Ember's hand and pulled her over to the elevator, he shouted "Elevator!" Getting a "Whaaat??" For an answer, he continued "Take me up to the house level!"

The door slid open; Zim released Ember's hand as they both got in. They came up from the toilet, Ember and Zim jumped out. He looked at Ember, staying silent. "We can still try….can't we?"

Ember looked away from Zim "I guess we could…it's worth a shot." She walked over to the door, waiting for Zim.

Zim hesitated, appearing to still be in deep thought; he put his skool disguise back on and walked out the door with Ember following close behind. They walked quickly; it was dark and getting very cold

As Zim lifted her up to her window, Ember was about to say something when Zim beat her to it. "Ember human, I hope I can trust you with this secret!"

Ember looked at Zim for a minute, "Of course you can trust me! And besides…I kinda already knew you were an alien…"

Zim got an angry look on his face, "WHAT?! How could that be….were you spying on me Earth Beast?!" Ember was slightly taken back by Zim's outburst, but she explained "Because…you were too smart and nice to be human…" She smiled, before jumping from the windowsill and onto her bed.

Zim watched as Ember turned, he found himself smiling at her comment; that was actually the first compliment he was ever given…at least one that was on purpose. He lowered himself and started walking the way back to his base.

As he entered, Zim found Gir sitting right in front of the T.V screen watching the Angry Monkey. He had the radio next to him; Zim was about to go into the kitchen when a song started to play.

_Let me know that I've done wrong  
When I've known this all along_

Zim stopped, he looked at the radio, he seemed to actually like this song.

_I go around a time or two  
Just to waste my time with you_

_Tell me all that you've thrown away  
Find out games you don't wanna play  
You are the only one that needs to know_

He sighed and sat down on the couch, laying back, and then started to actually watch the show with Gir.

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret  
(Dirty little secret)  
Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret  
(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)  
My dirty little secret_

This song made him think of Ember, he stared down at Gir who was moving his head side to side slowly to the beat of the music.

_Who has to know  
When we live such fragile lives  
It's the best way we survive  
I go around a time or two  
Just to waste my time with you_

Zim sat still; he stared at the T.V screen, then at the window. It had started raining and now the beat of the rain drops hitting the glass seemed to be in perfect sync with the song.

_Tell me all that you've thrown away  
Find out games you don't wanna play  
You are the only one that needs to know_

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret  
(Dirty little secret)  
Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret  
(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)  
My dirty little secret_

Zim looked away from the window, again his eyes went to the T.V screen.

_Who has to know  
The way she feels inside (inside)  
Those thoughts I can't deny (deny)  
These sleeping thoughts won't lie (won't lie)  
And all I've tried to hide  
It's eating me apart  
Trace this life out_

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret  
(Dirty little secret)  
Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret  
(Just another regret)_

He jumped off the couch, landing perfectly he looked once more at the screen then over at the window.

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret  
(Dirty little secret)  
Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret  
(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)  
My dirty little secret  
Dirty little secret  
Dirty little secret_

_Who has to know  
Who has to know_

Hearing the song come to an end, Zim walked out of the room and into the kitchen; disappearing into his labs.

--

Ember was now sitting comfortably on her bed; she could hear the loud snoring sounds of her passed out father downstairs. She jumped off her bed and headed for the door.

After coming back after getting a glass of water, Ember was sure she was safe. Her father was lying on the couch, obviously unable to be woken up by a few small noises.

She was turning to go back into her room when something caught her eye; it was coming out of the hall closet. She walked up to it and grabbed it, pulling it out she realized it was the neck of a guitar.

Ember wondered why she had never noticed it before, but she was usually in a rush to get out of the house or in too much pain to look around when she was going back to her room. She looked at it, seeing the name Miranda carved on the front of it.

Ember took it into her room; closing the door she once again looked the guitar over. It seemed to be in good condition. Ember realized something, "Wait a minute…" She said to herself, remembering a picture she saw in her father's room.

In the picture she remembered was a guitar; Ember once again walked out of her room. She walked to the end of the hallway and peered inside her father's room. She saw that same picture; she saw the guitar and on it was the same name, Miranda.

Before she turned to go back to her room, Ember studied the picture more. In it was her mother, playing the guitar with her father sitting next to her holding a baby she guessed was herself.

Ember looked away; she stared at the hallway behind her as she felt tears come to her eyes. She walked back to her room and closed the door behind her; picking up the guitar from the spot she had left it on the ground, she walked to her bed.

She put the guitar on her lap, wishing she knew how to play it. Those same tears were making their way slowly down her face; Ember wiped them away with her jacket sleeve.

It had appeared to her that her father was a much kinder man before her mother's….well Ember didn't know what had happened to her mother, she just knew that she was never coming back to her father and that her father blamed her.

She put the guitar down and put her headphones on, picking a song called Bubbly by Colbie Caillat.

_Will you count me in?_

_I've been awake for a while now  
you've got me feelin like a child now  
cause every time I see your bubbly face  
I get the tinglies in a silly place_

She listened carefully; looking at the guitar she picked it up and once again put it on her lap. Subconsciously, she put her fingers to the strings and started to play.

_It starts in my toes  
and I crinkle my nose  
where ever it goes I always know  
that you make me smile  
please stay for a while now  
just take your time  
where ever you go_

She didn't even know how she was doing it, but she was following almost perfectly with the song, playing every note.

_The rain is fallin on my window pane  
but we are hidin in a safer place  
under covers stayin dry (*safe) and warm  
you give me feelins that I adore_

_C: It starts in my toes  
make me crinkle my nose  
where ever it goes  
I always know  
that you make me smile  
please stay for a while now  
just take your time  
where ever you go_

_What am I gonna say  
when you make me feel this way  
I just........mmmmmm_

She could hear herself play, she could imagine that day when that picture was taken. Her mother playing flawlessly; too bad she couldn't remember any of it.

_It starts in my toes  
make me crinkle my nose  
where ever it goes  
i always know  
that you make me smile  
please stay for a while now  
just take your time  
where ever you go_

_I've been asleep for a while now  
You tucked me in just like a child now  
Cause every time you hold me in your arms  
I'm comfortable enough to feel your warmth_

She stopped playing, feeling her fingers starting to hurt; she put the guitar down, sliding it smoothly under her bed and listened as the song began to come to a stop.

_It starts in my soul  
And I lose all control  
When you kiss my nose  
The feelin shows  
Cause you make me smile  
Baby just take your time now  
Holdin me tight_

_Where ever, where ever, where ever you go  
Where ever, where ever, where ever you go  
Where ever you go, I'll always know  
Cause you make me smile here, just for a while_

As the song came to an end, Ember looked out the window. Seeing that it was raining, she watched the rain and wondered what Zim was up to.

She laid her head down as her eyes began to grow heavy; she fell into a comfortable sleep.

------

Wow….didn't think this chapter would be so long….

Well…just three more days until I'm free to do whatever I want for two weeks….like Chapter 11…


	11. Food Fight!

YAY! Finals are over!! I can sleep and eat again!! And more importantly…work on new chapters.

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs. I am not claiming that I do.

--

Chapter 11: Friday: Food fight!

Ember awoke to a harsh cold wind on her face. She opened her eyes to the sight of a slightly open window; she sat up and closed it.

She looked outside; there was frost and ice on the tree by her window. She slowly got out from under the covers and put on a different pair of jeans and a different shirt; both black with a dragon like silver swirl going around the length of each.

She put her jacket back on and grabbed her Zune. Once again, she made her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

She saw or heard no sign of her father, 'I guess he went to a bar.' She thought, walking out the door, feeling the freezing temperature of the outside world.

She walked along, keeping her hands in her pockets. She watched as cars went by, wishing she could have gotten a ride to skool, but that was an impossibility.

Ember looked up, she saw Zim waiting at the end of the cul-de-sac like he always did. She ran to greet him, but didn't see the ice blocking her path.

She slipped. Ember felt herself falling backwards, waiting for the cold sidewalk to be felt on her back. She stopped falling; opening her eyes, she saw Zim holding her up with one hand on her back.

Zim had rushed over as soon as he saw her slip; he skidded on the ice and caught her in one quick, smooth move.

The two stayed there for a minute, looking at each other. Ember blushed and stood up, keeping her balance she said "Thanks Zim."

Zim stood up straight himself, both his hands formed fists and were at his side. He relaxed and said "Uh…no problem Ember human…"

They walked in an awkward silence, both looking down at the ground. Ember never stopped blushing, she was so embarrassed.

As they entered the classroom, Ember looked at the calendar, seeing that it was Friday the 13th. She smiled at the thought of "bad luck" on this day. Truth is, she loved Friday the 13th; yet another thing that made her a freak.

She took her seat as the bell rang, she pulled out her book. She became so entranced as the climax of her story grew closer and closer, that she didn't notice the other children walk in and go to their seats.

Zita stopped at the doorway, wanting to go torment Ember like she always…or once did. But a cold and intimidating stare from Zim stopped her in her tracks.

She looked away from Zim's stare and walked on; getting at least three feet away, she stopped, feeling his stare still on her.

Zim never took his eyes off Zita, almost like he was daring her to take one more little step towards the girl who he could actually call a friend.

Zita turned around, keeping her head down to avoid Zim; she took her seat and stayed quiet.

Zim glanced at Ember; she was still reading her book. He thought she looked better…well happier than when he first met her.

As the day went on, the class was strangely quiet. All were obeying without question and more importantly (at least to Zim) leaving Ember alone.

The lunch bell rang, for once, the kids left in a quiet manner and silently walked through the halls.

Zim got up and actually waited for Ember, watching as she got up, put her book away, and walked towards him with her backpack slung over one shoulder.

Ember smiled at him as they walked out into the hallway and through the double doors to the cafeteria. She surprised Zim by actually sitting at an unoccupied table; he sat next to her.

She took out her book, but before she started reading she said "I really don't want to go outside…it's freezing out there." Then, she started to read, clearly getting into a good part of the story.

Zim looked at her, then at the window. He saw a gray sky and leaves scatter around an empty skoolyard as a powerful gust of wind picked up. He shivered slightly at the thought of being caught in that wind.

The hideous, snorting laughter came from a table nearby; the "Popular" girls table.

They were watching Ember and Zim, one of them spoke. "Look girls! Look who finally decided to join us! I guess freaks need warmth too!" Jessica's comment was heard, but the only ones who responded were the girls at her table. They laughed in sync; a creepy thing to hear.

Zim looked back at them, but saw that they were only focused on Ember at the moment; he looked at Ember, trying to see what she was going to do.

Ember waited until she was at a page break on the page she was on. She closed her book and placed it down gently on the table. She got up calmly.

Zim watched as she did this, feeling no need in getting involved in something that Ember needed no help with.

Ember walked over to the table when Jessica sat; Ember seemed to have a bored look on her face and her arms were at a comfortable position at her sides.

Jessica seemed not too interested; she took another bite of that disgusting food that the skool served for lunch.

Ember stood there, silent, she placed her hand on the edge of Jessica's tray and pulled it up.

The tray slammed into Jessica's face and hair; Ember heard the clatter sound as the now empty tray fell back onto the table.

A hushed silence fell over the cafeteria; everyone looked at Ember and Jessica. The girls at her table had combined looks of anger, shocked, and confusion as they stared at Jessica.

Jessica placed shaking hands on her bangs and face; she pulled them off and looked horribly at her now food covered hands. She screamed.

Ember looked to her left, seeing Torque running towards her at full speed, she stepping to the side and placed her foot out as he accidently ran past her.

Torque tripped on her foot and went crashing to the ground. He stayed where he was, obviously dazed.

Ember smiled a victorious smile, like Zim did whenever he had "accomplished" anything. She walked back to Zim and said "I think we should really get out of here" She was laughing a little while she said it and grabbed her stuff.

Zim smiled and tried not to laugh as he got up with Ember and left. He could hear the sounds of a food fight and laughed with Ember.

The rest of the day went by fast; everyone was trying to get food out of their clothes and/or hair and therefore, not interested at the person who started it all.

As the bell rang, all the students ran out to celebrate the weekend.

Ember got up and went over to Zim. "Hey, can we go over to my place real quick? I need to get something."

Zim answered with a yes then said "What about your father?" Ember looked at him and said "He's at the bar…I'm sure he won't come home until late tonight"

Zim looked unsure, but agreed.

The walk there was quick, it was still cold. As they entered the house, Ember went up to her room as Zim waited downstairs.

He tried to ignore the disgusting smell of lingering alcohol. He could hear Ember as she came down the stairs with the guitar.

Ember had it strapped to her with a dark purple strap; she grabbed Zim's hand and playfully pulled him out the door.

Zim let her; he seemed to be glad that she was acting well…like a friend should. He had to pull away from her as they got through the fence of his base.

Zim opened the door; he closed it as Ember entered. He turned to see Gir once again sitting in front of the T.V, the radio at his side.

Ember sat on the couch; she looked at Zim and said,"Zim…I want to show you something!" She smiled and looked back down at the guitar on her lap ready to be played.

At that moment Gir found it appropriate to turn on the radio.

A song started to play, a song that Ember had heard at least a dozen times due to it being on her Zune.

_Ha, ooh  
I don't understand, this should be so easy  
To just reach out my hand, I know the world is real  
But nothing's as it seems, oh I can tell you freely  
Touchings not the only way to feel_

Ember played along, she started to sing along with the song.

Zim sat next to her, watching as she played and listened as she sang. She had a beautiful singing voice.

_When the rain falls it's like Heaven's crying  
And the names are the difference that there is  
Cause tears are the same when they are trying to  
Grow something good out of all pain, pain  
There's no difference between the teardrops and the rain_

_I know you're probably saying, that I'm just talking crazy  
To think of life that way means that I'm confused  
There's happy and there's sad, but maybe yes just maybe  
The sadness can make the happiness more true_

Ember had to keep looking the guitar as she played, to make sure that she didn't mess up. But she did steal a glance towards Zim, she saw him smiling.

_When the rain falls it's like Heaven's crying  
And the names are the difference that there is  
Cause tears are the same when they are trying to  
Grow something good out of all pain, pain  
There's no difference between the teardrops and the rain_

_Because I know they're both so necessary  
I don't let it bother me at all, oh_

_When the rain falls it's like Heaven's crying  
And the names are the difference that there is  
Cause tears are the same when they are trying to  
Grow something good out of all pain  
There's no difference between the teardrops and the rain  
Ha, ooh_

As the song came to an end, so did Ember. She looked around; the room was silent.

Gir was looking at her; he smiled and started to clap after he turned off the radio.

Zim just gave a simple "Fantastic." He looked away from Ember, he looked outside and saw that the wind had stopped and the clouds had cleared.

Ember noticed this as well; she waited to see if Zim was going to say anything. She waited a few minutes, after hearing nothing from Zim she said, "Wanna go to the park?"

Zim looked at her; he hesitated then said "Sure…"

Ember smiled, she lifted the strap on the guitar and put it around her. She got up and said "Well…let's go now…I want to be able to have a good time before having to worry before it gets dark."

Zim got up and walked to the door, he opened it to find a peaceful world outside. He lead the way as they walked to the park, which was a short walk away.

------

And there's chapter 11….

I am off for 2 weeks…and I hope I can finish this story before Christmas.


	12. Secrets Revealed and a Fearful Night

Just wanted to answer a few questions before I start with the chapter:

invaderzimfannumber1: My favorite character is Zim :) He's so awesome, it's impossible for me not to love him. But the Tallests are a very strong second.

acts2-38isfarout: Uh…no. Unfortunately, I have no plans of saying who the original owner of the Zune was. But here's something interesting, one of my friends had the same size and color of Zune in the story. About a week before I started Music Based Friendship, he lost it; apparently it fell out of his pocket while he was walking down a busy street and he never saw it again. I thought it would make him feel better if I put his Zune in the story with the same songs he had on it.

Okay, on with the chapter! Oh…wait…**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs. I am not claiming that I do.

---

Chapter 12: Secrets Revealed and a fearful night.

The wind had started up again, but only as a breeze, just barely strong enough to move the branches on the tall trees. Dead leaves were falling; landing on the ground all around.

Ember lead Zim to a high grassy hill, they sat back to back on the very top of the hill. She was about to start playing her guitar when she heard something coming up the hill towards them.

It made itself known when it stepped on dead leaves, making them make a crunching sound. It also made small squeaking sounds.

Ember realized who it was and relaxed. Just as she did, Gir came running into view and jumped onto Zim's head.

Zim sat there; he reached up and grabbed Gir by the sides of his head. He struggled to pull him off, but the only thing that Gir off was when he dropped his radio.

Gir screamed and jumped off, he picked up his precious radio and hugged it like he would one of his rubber piggy friends. He turned it on and placed it on the ground; he opened his head and pulled out a squeaky moose.

After squeaking it a few times, Gir laughed and rolled down the hill; leaving Zim and Ember with the radio.

A song started to play.

_When the night has come, and the land is dark  
And the moon is the only light we will see  
No, I won't be afraid, oh, I won't be afraid  
Just as long as you stand, stand by me  
So darlin', darlin' stand by me  
Oh stand by me  
Oh stand, stand by me, stand by me _

Ember wanted to sing and play along, but she didn't know the song. She settled for just listening to it with Zim.

It had started to snow, just peaceful snowflakes falling calmly. Ember took out the umbrella from her backpack; she had never taken out since she first went into Zim's base. She opened it up and held it over her and Zim.

Zim looked at the umbrella above him, and then looked at Ember. He smiled and relaxed, not fearing that potential burn threats that fell around sky was starting to darken, dusk was upon them. Ember sighed and leaned against Zim, feeling comforted by his warmth. She was careful not to lean against his PAK; she felt that it was an important part to him. She mostly just leaned her shoulders against his.

_If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall  
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea  
I won't cry, I won't cry, no, I won't she'd a tear  
Just as long as you stand, stand by me  
And darlin', darlin' stand by me  
Oh stand by me  
Whoa stand now, stand by me, stand by me_

Ember reached her hand out of the protection that the umbrella served; her palm slowly began to fill up with small, white snowflakes. She sat up and blew on the snow in her numb hand.

The snowflakes flew off her hand, creating white swirls before disappearing and falling to the ground.

Ember smiled and leaned back against Zim, in the same position so she wouldn't be leaning against his PAK.

_And darlin', darlin' stand by me  
Oh stand by me  
Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me_

Zim tensed up when Ember first made contact, but he relaxed when he realized that she wouldn't be leaning against his PAK. She was the only human that he would ever allow to touch let alone lean against him. He closed his eyes for a while, listening to the song and the slight breeze.

_Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me  
Oh stand by me  
Whoa stand now, oh stand, stand by me..._

_Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me  
Oh stand by me  
Whoa stand now, oh stand, stand by me..._

As soon as the song ended, Zim opened his eyes and realized it was getting dark fast. He jumped up and to the side, hitting his head on the umbrella and knocking it down.

He got up so fast that Ember had fallen backwards; she lay on her back, dazed, until she also realized how dark it had gotten. "Oh jeez! I gotta go!"

Zim had his arms over his head, trying to keep the snow off. He looked up and saw it had stopped snowing; he put his arms down.

Ember grabbed the umbrella and shoved it into her backpack without thinking. She rushed out of the park, turning only once to wave goodbye to Zim and shout "I'll see you tomorrow Zim! Bye!"

Zim waved a small wave, he watching as she ran out of sight towards her house. He looked around, seeing Gir flying towards him with his moose friend.

Gir was riding so fast that he nearly missed Zim and his beloved radio. He stopped just barely in time and grabbed his radio and his master by the back of the shirt.

Zim screamed nearly the entire time; he stopped when they had gotten out of the park and looked back. He couldn't see Ember and considered it a good thing.

He turned back just in time to see his front door coming straight at him; both him and Gir slammed face first into the door. Zim slid down, and without a word opened the door and walked inside.

--

Ember ran up her drive way and into her house. She looked around and ran silently up the stairs and into her room.

She was breathing heavily from running the entire way; she took off the guitar and slid it carefully under her bed.

Part of the neck was sticking out, but Ember was oblivious to it. She sat on her bed and tried to catch her breath, she was about to lay down when she heard someone approaching her door.

Her father slammed open the door, a beer bottle in his hand. He pointed accusingly at Ember; he took a huge sip from his beer and said "YOU! Do you want to explain to me where the hell you were yesterday!?"

Ember sat quietly and said in a slightly panicked type of voice, "What do you mean?"

Her father took a step into the room; he had this menacing look in his eyes. He took another sip, "You know what I fucking mean you slut! The skool called when I got home today, they said that you weren't in class and wanted to know where you were! I hung up and came up here, only to see that you weren't here either! Tell me where you were!"

Ember crawled to the wall next to her bed and said quietly, "I…was there, they just missed me…" She could feel tears building up in her eyes. She blinked them away; she didn't want to give her father the satisfaction of knowing that he made her feel weak and miserable.

Her father walked in, he grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her off of her bed. He looked down at her and said "What did I say about you lying to me?!"

Ember hit her back hard on the metal frame of the bed; she felt a burning sensation and knew that she would have a bad cut where she hit. She looked up, fear prevented her from speaking.

Her father pulled her up by the front of her shirt, he had his face in hers, giving her that disgusted and angry look that Ember usually got from him. He waited a while before saying "I don't know why your mother even wasted her time birthing and even loving a useless bitch like you!"

He swung her away from him, releasing her shirt and watched as she collided with the door; her right side hitting the door knob hard, making the door slam shut.

Ember lay where she, wanted to be with Zim, wishing that he was there. Still, she held her tears in.

Her father looked at the ground; he saw the part of the guitar that was sticking out. His eyes widened and he grabbed it, pulling it up; he observed the guitar and looked furiously at Ember. "Where the fuck did you get this?!"

He lowered the guitar to his side and walked towards Ember; he got close to where she was lying and kicked her hard in the stomach and rib cage.

Ember gasped in pain, she sat up slightly and held her side. She looked up angrily at her father, still saying silent and refusing the tears to fall.

Her father looked down at her, "Don't you dare make eye contact you whore!" He spilled whatever was left in his beer bottle all over Ember and laughed when she went from looking angry and rebellious to shocked and miserable. He then smashed the empty glass bottle over her head, on the door knob.

Ember looked down, trying not to breathe in the smell of the alcohol that was now poured all over her clothes and hair. She felt the glass fall upon her in big, sharp pieces. She stopped herself from gasping out in pain when the little pieces fell on the cuts that the bigger ones made.

She was then pulled up by the wrist and forced to look at her father.

He punched her hard, not really caring anymore which side he hit. He punched and slapped her hard before flinging her down hard on the cold, wooden floor.

He looked down at the guitar and yelled "YOU! This is all your fault! It's your fault that she went out late to buy you more baby formula! If you didn't exist, she wouldn't have gone out and got run over by a drunk! She would have had a car to drive and wouldn't have been killed…and…she would still be here!

Ember had gotten up, and got a few feet away; she heard this and felt guilty…she looked down at the ground.

Her father had tears in his eyes; he looked down at the guitar once more before swinging it at Ember. It hit her on the side of her jaw and on the side of her neck; the crack of wood was also heard.

Ember fell, slamming hard at the base of her bed, once again hitting the metal frame. She sat there, in pain; she looked up at her father that who was now on the across from her at the other side of her room, near the door.

He reached into his pants pocket, bringing out a gun. He looked at it; he cocked it and aimed it at Ember; right at the heart.

Ember saw this; she couldn't scream let alone breathe. She kept her eyes on the gun; a sudden wave of anger passed through her. She spoke in a quiet, cold voice "So…you became the same kind of person that killed mom…"

Her father's eyes widened in anger. "Don't you ever call her that! You don't deserve her as a mother…you never did!" He walked towards Ember; never putting the gun down. He got close; his feet were nearly touching hers.

Ember was trembling; she felt blood coming down her face. She let the blood fall; ignoring the pain that would only get worse.

Her father kept the pointed gun still, he put his finger on the trigger; his cold eyes never left Ember's frightened ones.

Ember kicked up, kicking the gun right as her father pulled the trigger. It went spinning in the air, nanoseconds before the bullet came; everything seemed to be in slow motion.

Ember closed her eyes, awaiting her death. 'I'll miss you Zim…' Was her last thought before…

A shot was heard.

---

I hope this chapter didn't cross the lines of Rated T….I don't think it did, but I'm always cautious about stuff like this.

I'm getting started on Chapter 13 right now; I'm in the zone and I don't want to forget everything for the next chapter in my sleep… (Which I usually do)


	13. A Cold Night

Once again…before I start…

invaderzimfannumber1: I think I have. If I did, then it was a long time ago, cuz I haven't seen anything The Lion King related for a long time. I do have a few…okay, almost every song from the first and second movies on my Zune. But I think my favorite version of Stand by Me is when David Archuleta sang it on the last American Idol season. I'm a sucker for young (really cute!) guys singing an emotional song. :)

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the songs. I wish I did, but I really don't.

Okay…I guess I should stop all the suspense…here's Chapter 13!

----

Chapter 13: A Cold Night.

Ember still had her eyes shut tight. She heard the loud blast and fear took control of her; she awaited the pain of having a steel cold bullet break through your skin and the metal taste of blood in her mouth.

Nothing came. No pain, no metal taste of blood…nothing.

She heard the crack of something hitting the door, it sounded like the splitting of old wood. After that, she heard the sounds of someone coughing violently, shuffling away from her, and then crashing to the floor.

She felt warm blood splatter on to her. Ember opened her eyes; she wanted to scream, but couldn't find the strength to do even that.

Her father was leaning against the door, sitting up against it. His eyes glazed over, blood was still coming out in streaks from his mouth. He had been shot right in the chest.

Blood drops were all over, she guessed it was when he coughed. There was a pool of blood forming around where the man sat.

Ember looked down at herself; there were blood splats spread all over her. Her father's blood mixed with her's on her face, clothes, and hair.

She looked down at the ground; the gun was lying on the ground, the only thing that divided the dead from the living. It was pointing right at her father, it had chosen its victim.

But Ember knew the truth; she was the one who kicked the gun up in the air. She didn't listen to her brain, which was saying that it wasn't her fault, she was scared and she did what any other person would had done.

No, she was listening to her guilt conscious; it was saying that she should have gone to skool the day before. It also said that she had meant for her dad to have gotten shot; that's what she wanted, to not have that horrible man in her life any longer.

Ember looked away from her dead father, she held in the tears. Even in his death, she knew that her father was still watching her.

She used the bed to lean on as she slowly got up; with her father blocking the door, Ember got on her bed and opened the window.

The wind was blowing and rain was threatening to fall; but she grabbed onto the nearest branch from the tree nearby. She looked back at her father once more; she looked away and swung out of the window.

The branch was long and flexible with the coming of winter, it allowed her to land uncouple feet from the ground. Unfortunately, it could only stretch down so far; it snapped and Ember fell to the ground.

She landed on her sore back, she hissed in pain. Getting up, Ember was feeling like she was going to throw up. The effects of seeing a still bleeding dead body was bad, but seeing your dead father was even worse.

She got to her feet; she started walking slowly down the dark and freezing street. It had started raining, heavily.

Ember was in pain, cold, and now soaking wet. She put her hands in her jacket's pockets and was surprised to find that her Zune was still there.

She took it out and put the headphones on, without looking at the screen, she choose a song. She didn't care what song it was, as long as it saved her from her thoughts.

_Playground school bell rings again  
Rain clouds come to play again  
Has no one told you she's not breathing?_

Ember walked slowly, the pain getting worse. Finally, she let the tears fall, streaking down her face non-stop.

_Hello I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to  
Hello_

Tears mixed with blood and raindrops. Even through the song, Ember heard the eerie gusts of wind and the cold rain falling. She kept moving, not sure it she should go to the place that her heart was telling her to go to.

_If I smile and don't believe  
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream  
Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken  
Hello I am the lie living for you so you can hide  
Don't cry_

A car zoomed by, its tires splashing into a huge puddle then disappearing, its red lights the only visible thing in the night. Ember was drenched with even more rain water.

Ember moved on; a dog barked at her from its place in a dark ally before running into the shadows behind it. She was looking down at the ground, watching her own blood fall and be washed away.

Suddenly, a faint green glow made her turn into a familiar cul-de-sac. She walked up to the strange looking house.

_Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping  
Hello I'm still here  
All that's left of yesterday_

The song ended right as she got through the fence. She saw those creepy gnomes all turn to her, their eyes glowing. She ran up to the door with all the strength she had left.

Hearing an alarm go off inside, she felt no need in ringing the door bell.

Zim opened the door; an angry growl escaped his lips. He spoke in an angry tone, "Ember human! Couldn't you just tell me before you come over? And it's late! You're very lucky that you didn't get blasted by my security sys---"

He stopped when the light hit Ember. Blood was all over her, along with bad cuts, bruises, and he also saw a few small pieces of glass stuck in her messy and bloody hair. He stopped talking and stepped to the side to allow Ember to come in. His face now held an extremely concerned and confused look.

Ember took one step inside and fell to her knees in pain. Exhaustion made her fall the rest of the way to the tiled floor, she lay on her stomach.

Ember passed out.

Zim watched this, he knelt down at her side; his voice was now a gentle whisper, "Ember?" He placed a hand on her back after getting no response. But was forced to pull away in slight pain, she was soaking wet so it was impossible to touch or comfort her.

Zim looked around, he shouted, "GIR!" He yelled towards the kitchen, still staying at Ember's side.

His defective robot came walking casually out of the kitchen; he walked to his master's side, his blue features turned red and he saluted with a "Yes Sir!"

Zim straightened up and said in a commanding voice, "Gir, fetch me two big blankets!" He watched as his robot surprisingly obeyed him.

Gir shouted with another "Yes Sir!" then ran off. He came back with two big blankets; both were black with an I Love Earth! flag symbol on each. His features turned back to blue and he ran off towards the kitchen screaming "Taquitos!"

Zim grabbed one of the blankets and laid it over Ember. He got up and laid the other on the couch. He turned back and lifted Ember through the blanket, he kicked the door closed.

He laid her down gently on the couch, over the blanket. He kept the other one on her, hoping it was enough to warm her up.

She was so pale, but at least her cuts had stopped bleeding. The faint odor of alcohol still lingered on her hair and face; Zim realized it was practically the same smell as the one in her house. Her tear streaks were still on her face, even though the tears had stopped as soon as Ember saw Zim's red eyes.

Zim wanted to just hold her in his arms, not caring if she was human or not. But she was soaking wet, and the paste only lasted for so long.

He settled for just sitting next to her, on the edge of the couch. He watched as she moved her head slightly, but never waking up.

He sighed; the room was so quiet. The only sounds were Ember's raspy breathing and the slight sounds of Gir in the kitchen.

Zim looked on the ground. The radio sat by his feet; he bent over and turned it on.

Almost immediately, a song started to play, making the silence vanish.

_The dawn is breaking  
A light shining through  
You're barely waking  
And I'm tangled up in you  
Yeah... _

Zim listened to the lyrics; he looked down at Ember's face. The look on her face was not a peaceful one, it was twisted in pain and fear. She looked like she was having a nightmare.

_I'm open, your closed  
Where I follow you'll go  
I worry I won't see your face  
Light up again_

Zim stared at her for a while, he knew who had done this and he wanted revenge. But he couldn't do anything with Ember like this, she needed him right now. But vengeance could be done at anytime; he could wait as long as it would take.

_Even the best fall down sometime  
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme  
Out the doubt that fills my mind  
I somehow find  
You and I  
Collide_

Zim reached down at Ember's cold hand, it was lying limp off the couch. He grabbed it gently. He ignored the pain that resulted, but he didn't care.

Ember seemed to respond to the contact, she turned her head in her sleep. Her face began to look a little less pain filled and more peaceful. Still, she did not wake up.

_I'm quiet, you know  
You make a first impression  
I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind_

_Even the best fall down sometimes  
Even the stars refuse to shine  
Out of the back you fall in time  
I somehow find  
You and I  
Collide_

He heard the rain falling heavily and realized what Ember went through to get here. No wonder she was soaking wet and freezing to the touch.

_Don't stop here  
I lost my place  
I'm close behind_

Zim still held Ember's hand, it being the best comfort he could give without hurting himself. He really needed to get her someplace warmer, but that could wait until she woke up and told him what had happened.

_Well even the best fall down sometimes  
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme  
Out of the doubt that fills your mind  
You finally find you and I collide  
Finally find you and I collide  
You finally find you and I collide_

As the song faded away, Zim turned the radio off. He saw Ember's closed eyes open slightly.

Ember was starting to wake up.

----

And there's Chapter 13.

Hopefully I can get Chapter 14 up soon (I have a feeling that it's going to be long).


	14. Silence: Cold and Eerie

Just a warning: This chapter might get extremely creepy….so don't expect any humor, not even from Gir.

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs. If I did, Invader Zim would still be here, and the songs would be known by everyone.

---

Chapter 14: Silence: Cold and eerie.

Ember's eyes slowly opened. She looked around, at first not knowing where she was.

Zim released her hand; he waited patiently until she spoke…or freaked out (whichever came first). His eyes never left hers.

Ember sat up; her head was pounding due to a major headache. Ember leaned against the arm of the couch; her stomach and sides were filled with pain. She stayed quiet, glancing at Zim, then at the floor.

Since it was clear that she wasn't going to speak anytime soon, Zim spoke. "How are you feeling?" He said it as gentle as he could; it seemed as if that was the most appropriate thing for him to ask, despite him practically dying to know what had happened to her.

Ember's head stayed down, but her eyes looked up at Zim. "I…can't go back home, Zim…" She closed her eyes, trying to blink away the coming tears. She wanted to look strong for Zim.

"What why?!" Zim asked, a little more demanding than he meant. He tried to see Ember's eyes, but they were shut tight. He caught his mistake (something that even surprised him) and said in a much more gentle tone "Why can't you go home? …What happened?"

Ember lifted her head; tears were now falling from her eyes. Quick flashes of what had happened flashed through her mind, showing what had happened in perfect order.

Zim saw those tears; he once again waited patiently for an answer. He watched as Ember sat up, causing her to flinch in pain. Then hug herself with her head down.

Ember couldn't take it anymore. She looked up at Zim, her eyes pleading for him to talk so she wouldn't have to.

Zim stayed silent, he moved a little closer to Ember. She was still a little wet, but the paste on his body could protect him from that.

Ember felt Zim move closer to her, suddenly the pain, both emotional and physical, were too much to handle by herself. She turned herself, so she was side to side with Zim, and then hugged him, nearly begging for comfort.

Zim was a little startled, but he hugged back. He heard Ember's sobs and tried to comfort her as best he could. He gently rubbed her back and rocked her slowly.

Ember was crying less now, she started to explain what had happened; now feeling the need to let Zim in. "I…my father found out about me missing skool yesterday…I made the mistake of lying and he…he got angry."

Zim listened, still hugging Ember.

Ember broke the hug; she now looked Zim in the eye. She continued, not missing any detail; she had to talk through her tears. She could barely understand herself, but Zim seemed to understand everything.

His eyes stayed gentle and calm, but on the inside, he was feeling angry and full of hate for that disgusting male who hurt Ember.

Ember went on; telling him what she had heard when her eyes were closed. She looked down; bringing her hand to her cheek, feeling little droplets of now dried blood that she knew was her father's. She wanted to scream again, but she held it in.

Zim observed Ember closely now, she had serious cuts on her face, along with several bruises. But the worst he saw were the three huge, long slashes along her jaw line and going around her neck, they were surrounded with big bruises. It looked like she was hit with split wood, hard.

Ember stopped talking; she was feeling dizzy and sleepy. Her eyes closed, and she started to lean forward, towards Zim.

He caught her by the shoulders, watching as she fell asleep. 'Perfect timing Ember' He thought, he picked her up and carried her off the couch. He carried her to the side of the couch, near the chair. A control board appeared and he pressed a big, green button.

The couch flipped and disappeared into the wall and a door replaced it. Zim walked up to it, Ember still in his arms. The door slid open and a hallway appeared.

There were several doors; Zim carried Ember to the first door on the left.

The door slid open and a room was revealed. It looked like a regular teenager's room; the walls were a midnight blue color and the trimmings were black. The bed was queen sized and had a black comforter on it.

Zim walked in; the door slid behind him.

--

Ember awoke; she was warm and her headache was gone. She sat up, no longer feeling pain…well anywhere.

She looked around, the room was lightly dimmed. She liked this room; it had an epic dragon painted on each wall. Each a different color and different dragon. She wondered if Zim knew this was going to happen and made this room in advance, or if he just liked dragons like she did.

She started to get sleepy again and laid back on the fluffy, silver colored pillows. She wondered where Zim was; but she fell asleep before she could think of an answer.

--

Zim was now right outside Ember's house. He saw that the lights were still on and even the T.V, but there was no shadow movement; at least, not through the curtains on the windows. The rain had stopped, which was something that Zim was glad about.

He proceeded, walking through the unlocked front door. He closed the door behind him and stood there; he cracked his knuckles, preparing for when he saw the man's ugly face. But…nobody came, not even the shuffling of feet running off.

He made his way up the stairs, the smell of death finally hitting him. He didn't know that smell, but he did know what blood smelled like; he started getting regrets when he got to Ember's door.

He turned the knob slowly, and opened the door at the same slow pace. When he saw that something was going to fall back, he jumped to the side as he let the door fly open.

((Yes…I know that doors don't go that way, but it adds tension for Zim if he goes up the stairs, instead of going through the window))

The bloody body of Ember's dead father fell right near Zim's feet. Zim flinched, disgusted and pretty much shocked.

He tore his eyes away from the body and looked inside the room. There was a huge pool of blood and several little ones. He saw the guitar near the end of her bed.

He moved around the body, trying not to get any disgusting, human blood on his boots. He walked around the blood and a few bits of broken glass as he made his way to the guitar. He grabbed it by the neck and pulled it up.

He nearly dropped it when he saw a few streams of blood on the bottom and side of it, but he stopped himself when he saw that it was cracked where most of the blood was.

He looked at Ember's father with hate in his eyes. "You monster…" He said, he moved to Ember's bed and jumped on top to get to the window.

And just as Ember did, Zim looked back at the body once more, then jumped out of the window with the guitar's neck in his hand.

He pulled out his spider legs before he hit the ground; lowering to the ground and retracting them back into his PAK, he ran swiftly and quietly back to his base.

--

Ember was tossing and turning in her sleep, tears were going down her face as her conscious was yelling at her. Telling her what she had done to the man that was the only reason why she was still alive and the only father she had.

Suddenly, the voice disappeared as a warm hand touched Ember's shoulder. "Ember?" She heard, opening her eyes.

Zim was standing next to the bed; he had a worried look on his face. Ember realized that she had tears in her eyes; she wiped them off with the back of her hand. She sat up and hugged her knees; the thoughts and voices telling her of what she had done began to start back up.

Zim sat on the edge of the bed; he laid the guitar near where Ember's feet were. He was silent, seeing her eyes get a depressed and sad look in them.

Ember stayed quiet, on the outside, calm and sad; but on the inside, screaming for the voices of her guilty conscious to shut up. She was looking away from Zim; she saw the guitar but made no move for it.

He lifted Gir's radio to the table next to the bed and placed it there. He turned it on. "Ember…play something." Zim said quietly, trying to see Ember's eyes.

Ember hugged her knees tighter; tears were building up in her eyes.

"…Please" He whispered, wanting to hear Ember's voice be happy and sing again.

Ember looked up at Zim, she released her knees as she let them straighten out on the bed. She picked up the guitar as she heard a song begin.

_How could you know  
That behind my eyes a sad girl cried  
And how could you know  
That i hurt so much inside  
And how could you know  
That I'm not the average girl  
I'm carrying the weight of the world_

She played and sang along, this song was just as she was feeling and she liked it.

_Yeah!_

_So can you get me outta here_

_chorus  
Take me away  
We'll jump in the car_

Zim listened, he loved it when Ember sang and played her guitar.

_Drive till the gas runs out and then walk so far  
That we can't  
See this place anymore  
Take a day off  
Give it a rest  
So I can forget about this mess  
If I lighten up a little bit,  
Then I will be  
Over it_

Ember listened to herself sing; she glanced over at Zim and smiled when she paused with singing for a short second.

_I'm playin the role  
Of the happy girl  
But no one knows  
Inside I'm alone  
But I would never let it show  
I get everyday  
Too much work and not enough play  
Over and over  
It's always the same_

Zim saw that smile, but Ember looked back down before she could see him smile back. It was erased, and Zim once again watched as she played.

_Yeah!_

_But you can make everything ok..._

_Take me away  
We'll jump in the car  
Drive till the gas runs out and then walk so far  
That we can't  
See this place anymore  
Take a day off  
Give it a rest  
So I can forget about this mess  
If I lighten up a little bit,  
Then I will be  
Over it  
Over it_

_And when the world is closin' in  
I can leave it all and just walk away  
I can always start all over again  
I am closer to a better day_

_Take me away  
We'll jump in the car  
Drive till the gas runs out and then walk so far  
That we can't  
See this place anymore  
Take a day off  
Give it a rest  
So I can forget about this mess  
If I lighten up a little bit,  
Then I will be  
Take me away_

Ember was thinking of Zim, it was like this song came on just for her so she could tell Zim what she was feeling without having to feel so awkward._  
_

_Take me away  
We'll jump in the car  
Drive till the gas runs out and then walk so far  
That we can't  
See this place anymore  
Take a day off  
Give it a rest  
So I can forget about this mess  
If I lighten up a little bit,  
Then I will be_

_If I lighten up a little bit,  
Then I will be  
Over it  
Over it_

_I am over it (over it)_

As the song came to an end, Ember looked at Zim as she set the guitar down.

Zim turned the radio off and silence once again filled the room. He got up when he saw Ember lay back and rest her head on the pillows. He pulled the comforter up to her shoulders and turned to walk out.

"Good night Zim..."

"Good night Ember"

He turned off the light and turned the corner as the door slid behind him.

Ember fell asleep; a nightmare began.

--

Okay…cutting it short cuz I'm running outta time. I'll get the next chapter up soon. Please review.

And I know, Zim was horribly out of character…but I found it cute.


	15. 2 Dreams1 Song

Just wanted to say a few things before I started the chapter:

Thank you to all that reviewed ^-^ It's nice to come home after a stressful day and see new reviews. :)

And this chapter was supposed to be combined with chapter 14, but I ran out of time for that chapter and had to post what I had without this part.

And I guess I should put this…**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the songs.

On with the chapter 15!

-------------------------------------

Chapter 15: 2 Dreams; 1 song.

Ember tossed and turned, her dream becoming more violent.

The room was dark; shadows seemed to come alive and fight with each other. Even the peaceful looking dragons on the walls seemed to turn evil and vicious.

Suddenly, Ember sat up straight and screamed loudly. She held her head, trying to make the nightmare stop, but it kept playing the most horrible parts of it over and over in her mind, even though Ember was now fully awake.

--

Zim was in his lab, trying to make a disease which would turn every human child into the disgusting worms that they truly were.

He had two beakers in his hands, pouring the contents of one into the other carefully. He heard the scream and dropped both beakers to the floor; they both shattered, the chemicals mixing too fast and melted the floor like a powerful, dark purple acid.

He looked up, ignoring the mess on the floor. He went to the elevator and was brought up to the house level.

The couch was still gone; the door still in its place. Zim walked up to the door, causing it to slide open and once again reveal the hallway.

He walked up to the room where Ember was and that door also slid open; this one revealing a very frightened Ember.

She was hugging her knees, her head was down, and she was quiet.

He advanced; walking up to her and stood next to the bed. "Ember, are you okay? I heard you scream…" Zim kept his voice low; he put a hand to Ember's shoulder when he got no response.

Ember jumped and looked up; she looked at Zim, not knowing if he was just another allusion from her demented nightmare. She looked away; her eyes were filled with tears, but only a few fell. She spoke, her voice almost a light whisper. "It's all my fault Zim…" She said, still refusing to look at Zim.

"What are you talking about?" Zim was confused, he didn't know what she was talking about, he didn't blame her for anything.

"My father's death…I'm the reason why he got shot." Ember looked up to the wired ceiling and blinked, trying to make the tears stop. She failed, the tears came, streaming down her face.

"Ember, how could it possibly be your fault? Didn't you say that he pulled the gun on you?" Zim sat next to Ember; he didn't like seeing her like this.

"Yes, but I kicked the gun and it…" Ember stopped, leaving her sentence unfinished.

"It went up in the air and it was a 50/50 percent chance for either of you of getting shot."

Ember looked at Zim; she knew he was right, but her conscious wouldn't leave it be. It pounded her with thoughts such as 'Why didn't you just run?!" and "You're better off being dead!" She looked down at the comforter; she knew Zim was trying to help and she didn't want to seem ungrateful.

She threw her arms around him and hugged him loosely; she felt him hug back. She broke away and said "Thanks Zim."

Zim smiled and got up; he knew she wasn't feeling much better, but he just wanted to let her know that he was there for her and that he cared. He walked to the door and lingered in the doorway, watching as Ember snuggled back into the blankets and fell asleep.

He sighed and walked out, hearing the gentle sound of the door sliding back down. He looked across the hall, at the room across from Ember's.

The room he was looking at was originally supposed to be his room; but he never used it, usually he fell asleep in one of his many labs. He walked up to the door; it slid open and he walked in.

The walls were a grey color, with the trimmings also painted black. The bed was also queen sized, but instead of a black comforter, this one had silver. The pillows were light red; a wolf was painted on each wall, each in a different pose, howling, growling, running, or just sitting there, watching you with pure red eyes.

He sat on the edge of the bed and laid down, suddenly feeling very tired. He let his eyes shut, hearing the door slide back down. He fell asleep.

--

Ember turned in her sleep; accidently turning on the radio that was still on the table. A song started, the volume was loud, but the song was quiet and sounded sad.

Both heard it in their sleep; making their dreams react to it in different ways.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_**She walks to school with the lunch she packed  
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back  
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday  
She hides the bruises with the linen and lace.  
Oh**_

_Ember found herself at skool, she had a butcher knife her hand. She looked down at it; there was blood coating the blade, and there were blood splats all over her clothes._

_--_

_Zim looked around, he was in his seat at skool. He looked behind him; he saw Ember, he watched as she got punched hard by Zita. Tears were going down her face as she ran out of the room, completely ignoring Zim's pleas for her to stop._

**_The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask  
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask  
Bearin' the burden of a secret storm  
Sometimes she wishes she was never born_**

_Ember looked down and saw Torque on his knees; he was holding a very bloody Jessica in his arms. He looked up at Ember with a pleading look. Ember was about to drop the knife when something took control of her. _

_She raised the knife and brought it down as she heard a "Please don't! I'm sorry!" from Torque. New blood splattered onto her clothes; she looked down and laughed at what she had done._

_Ember took control back and looked down once more; she gasped and dropped the knife as a hand grabbed her and pulled her by the arm towards her house._

_--_

_Zim followed; he ran through the hallway and stopped when he saw Ember. She was just standing there. Zim advanced, but as soon as he got close; she vanished. He looked around, almost panicked. _

_Suddenly, he felt himself appear right in front of her house. He looked up and saw Ember huddling on her bed, near her window._

**_Through the wind and the rain,  
She stands hard as a stone  
In a world that she can't rise above.  
But her dreams give her wings  
And she flies to a place where she's loved  
Concrete angel_**

_Ember soon found herself standing over her father; the gun in her hand._

_--_

_Zim stared up at the window; he realized the heavy rain falling and flinched. But he felt nothing; the rain seemed to go through him like he was never there, like he was just a ghost._

_Zim heard crashing sounds and ran for her window; bringing out his spider legs. _

**_Somebody cries in the middle of the night  
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights  
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate  
When morning comes it'll be too late_**

_Ember brought the gun up and pointed it at her father. She had a sick smile on her face as she heard her father plead for forgiveness. _

_She cocked the gun and pulled the trigger, laughing as she saw the bullet fly into his forehead; watching as he was decapitated. The blood splattered onto her; she ran one of her fingers through the blood on her shirt. She brought the bloody finger to her lips and licked it slowly._

_Ember was watching herself do this, she tried to scream but nothing came._

_--_

_Zim opened her window and jumped through. He saw Ember's father holding Ember by the front of her shirt against the door. He held a gun to the side of her head._

_Zim jumped from the bed and tried to make it to Ember; he tripped, landing and watched helplessly as the man pulled the trigger. "No!" He shouted; tears in his eyes as he watched Ember be shot and fall limp to the ground._

**_Through the wind and the rain,  
She stands hard as a stone  
In a world that she can't rise above.  
But her dreams give her wings  
And she flies to a place where she's loved  
Concrete angel_**

**_A statue stands in a shaded place  
An angel girl with an upturned face  
A name is written on a polished rock  
A broken heart that the world forgot_**

_Ember found herself in a cemetery; she just wanted to wake up. She stopped when she felt someone watching her; she turned towards the shadows. _

_She watched as she saw herself emerge; the gun and knife in either hand. Her demonic self stopped and stood there, also watching._

_--_

_Zim found himself in a cemetery; in front of an angel statue. He pulled back some leaves and moss and read the first name on the stone. He gasped when he saw the name Ember._

_He turned and found Ember herself standing behind him. He ran to go hug her, but she vanished when he tried to make contact._

**_Through the wind and the rain  
She stands hard as a stone  
In a world that she can't rise above  
But her dreams give her wings  
And she flies to a place where she's loved  
Concrete angel_**

_Ember's demonic self raised the gun like she did when she had her father cornered. She pointed it right at her other self. She cocked the gun and fired. Ember watched as the bullet came at her in slow motion. Everything disappeared in a white flash as the bullet made contact._

_--_

_Zim stood there; the cemetery turning into a cess pool of demonic shadows and creatures. He looked around as everything flashed and disappeared._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------_

Ember awoke; a gasp escaped her lips. That dream was the exact same one that she had before; but she was glad that she didn't wake up screaming this time.

She looked around; noticing that the radio was on and turned it off. She sighed; wondering if she should wait for Zim or just walk out of the room.

--

Zim awoke; he sat up and looked around. He knew it was just a dream; but he jumped off the bed, ran out the door and calmly walked into Ember's room.

He was relieved to find her still in the bed and not a lingering spirit.

--

Ember watched as Zim entered, looking relieved. She smiled at him and started to get out of bed.

--

Zim walked over to Ember and the two walked out of the room together.

-------------------------------------------

And there's chapter 15

This chapter was supposed to be a lot happier…but I love this song and wanted to have it in the story; and I thought this was the perfect time to put it in. Hopefully I didn't confuse you too much with the separate dreams…I got a little confused myself when I was typing them.

Also, because of those stupid finals using up most of my free time…I won't be able to finish this story by well….I guess tomorrow. And I really wanted to finish this story right at Christmas….and I don't think I can do 4 or 5 (maybe) chapters in 2 days….but the ending will be worth the wait (at least to me).


	16. Late Night Ride

invaderzimfannumber1: I don't really care for most of the Sims games…I've played The Sims 2, my friend has it; I do think it's good, but it gets kinda boring after a while. I've also played My Sims, but I gave up on it, cuz I'm stuck.

-Zim doesn't sleep?! Wow…I thought he did. I was watching the Original pilot a few nights ago, and I saw a picture of him and Gir asleep on a chair (so cute!)….but that was an early idea I guess. Thanks for telling me.

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the songs. I am not claiming that I do.

------------------------------------

Chapter 16: Late Night Ride.

It was late in the afternoon; the smell of the night before's heavy rainfall still lingered heavily in the air.

Zim and Ember walked out; they were going to head over to the park, they began to walk. But the loud sirens stopped them; several police cars went past the cul-de-sac and with one ambulance following close behind. Ember knew they were going to her house, to get her father's body and start an investigation on who killed him.

Zim looked at Ember's scared face, he grabbed her by the shoulders and guided her the rest of the way out of the cul-de-sac and the opposite direction of the flashing lights and sirens.

Ember seemed to snap out of it and pulled away from Zim. She looked at him and said, "Well, took them long enough."

Zim walked by her side, he looked back as the lights disappeared. "What do you expect? Humans are pretty slow…oh, no offence." He said, and then looked at Ember.

"None taken, we are slow…and stupid." Ember said, putting her hands in her pockets. After meeting Zim, Ember began seeing more and more flaws in her species. She saw how horrible they were to each other just because of skin color, religion, and gender. She was sickened; now she didn't want anything to do with humans, especially her classmates.

Zim looked away from Ember, he was kind of surprised by her comment but he didn't show it. "Yes…they are aren't they? Well…except you." Zim looked down at the ground.

Ember smiled at Zim and said, "Yep, they are. And…thanks." She turned, going through the entrance to the park with Zim by her side.

The day was cool, the sky held grey clouds. Zim and Ember settled for just walking around the park, since everything was still wet. They walked in silence, Ember didn't bring her Zune and both forgot the radio.

As they walked, both felt like they were being watched. Zim held out his hand in front of Ember to get her to stop; he turned and shouted to the bushes behind them, "Dib Human! I suggest you leave!"

Ember turned; an angry look on her face.

Dib emerged from the bushes; brushing off some leaves. He pointed accusingly at the two and said, "I knew you two were working together!" He then moved his finger to point at Ember, "And you! I know you're Irken! You have to be…it's the only explanation for you being his friend!"

Ember narrowed her eyes (like Zim sometimes does) and practically yelled, "Oh, so Zim being the only person to see past my looks and strange ways, and look at who I truly am is not a good explanation?!" She took a step towards Dib.

Zim didn't say anything; he only smirked at the idea of Ember telling Dib off.

Dib took a step back, "Why would you even want to be Zim's friend?!" He seemed to calm down a little; he reached into his coat pocket.

"Hello! I just said why Dib!" Ember was getting angry; she looked at Dib's coat pocket and watched him take out a camera and run towards Zim.

She tackled him.

They wrestled for the camera; Dib nearly got up and away twice, but Ember quickly caught him before he could get to Zim.

Zim watched all this, unsure of what to do. He saw Dib holding the camera out away from Ember, Zim shrugged and walked over without gaining either's attention. He swiped the camera out of Dib's hand.

Dib gasped as he felt the camera being taken away from him. He pushed Ember off roughly and got up. "Hey!" He yelled, but he stayed where he was.

Ember got up and brushed herself off; she walked to Zim's side, glaring back at Dib as she walked. She got to Zim's side and folded her arms; she watched Dib, making sure he wouldn't run for the camera.

Zim sighed and said, "Seriously Earth filth, you need to start remembering to take the LENSE CAP OFF!" He threw the camera at Dib's feet after snapping it in half.

Dib stared down at the broken remains of his camera; he looked up and glared at Zim, then at Ember.

Zim gave a victorious laugh then turned and started to walk out of the park. He stopped and looked back, waiting for Ember.

Ember gave an impressively, intimidating look at Dib before turning and running towards Zim. She got to his side and they walked out of the park.

Dib watched as they walked out, he looked at the ground and started walking the opposite direction, feeling defeated.

Zim and Ember walked in silence; they were both feeling pretty nervous about Dib. Ember was looking down at the ground, thinking about all the past events of the last week.

Zim was looking off to the side, thinking of some new ways he could destroy Dib with. He looked at Ember, feeling proud of her for keeping Dib away from him. Of course he knew that he could have stopped Dib without Ember's help, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

As they entered Zim's base, Ember looked out the window. They were at the park longer than she thought; the sky was getting darker and the first stars of the night shined brightly above. She looked at Zim.

Zim was deep in thought, standing near the T.V. He looked back at Ember and said, "Wanna go for a ride?"

Ember looked at Zim; she had a confused look on her face.

Zim smiled and said, "Come on, I'll show you!" He ran up to the door that lead to the hallway; it opened and he ran inside with Ember following close behind.

He ran up to one of the doors in the back of the hallway, the door slid open and both he and Ember walked in.

((I completely forgot what the name of the room where the Voot Cruiser is kept also what the room looks like…and I don't feel like watching Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain or Plague of Babies with commentary right now to find out…))

The door slid closed as Ember walked in. She felt the elevator move up; it stopped and the door opened. It revealed a large room with a ship sitting right in the center.

Zim walked up to the ship; the glass opened up and Zim motioned for Ember to come over.

Ember walked over; Zim held her hand as she got inside. Zim was about to get inside, when an over excited Gir popped out saying "HII!!!!"

Zim was startled, he jumped back. But after seeing that it was only Gir, he looked at Gir in annoyance. "GIR!" He shouted, he walked back to where he was and said "How did you get down here?"

Gir looked around; he was in his dog suite. "I don't know…" Zim sighed and pushed Gir over, so he was sitting between himself and Ember.

Zim closed the top and started the Voot Cruiser.

Ember felt the ship rise; she also heard the top of the room open up to allow the ship to pass through. Before she knew it, the ship was gliding high through the sky. She looked at Zim, "Aren't you worried about someone seeing you?"

Zim glanced over at Ember. "Not really, I've done this before, and these humans are too preoccupied with this…X-Mas…To notice me."

Ember looked down at Gir; he had the radio in his lap and was about to turn it on. "You're right…" She looked at Zim.

Zim had gone without his disguise; it wouldn't have made much of a difference since he was driving an alien space craft.

Gir pressed a button on the radio, a song started to play.

_You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side  
You know I'll take your hand_

Ember looked out the window; the stars were shining brightly. They sparkled in Ember's eyes; the moon was nothing but a crescent, but it seemed to fit perfectly with the stars surrounding it.

_When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No I won't give in_

Zim listened to the song; he kept his eyes ahead, making sure no destructive bees flew towards the ship.

_Keep holdin' on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through  
Just, stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you  
I'm here for you_

Ember glanced down at the radio; this song was on her Zune and she knew the lyrics, but she wasn't really in the singing mood. She settled for just sitting back, watching the stars pass by, and listening to the song.

_There's nothing you can say (Nothin' you can say)  
Nothing you can do (Nothin' you can do)  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth_

_So, keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through_

_So far away_

This song made Zim think of Ember; he glanced at her, but her eyes were so fixed on the stars that she didn't notice. He sighed quietly and continued to look ahead.

_I wish you were here  
Before it's too late  
This could all disappear_

_Before the doors close  
And it comes to an end  
With you by my side  
I will fight and defend  
I'll fight and defend, Yeah yeah_

This song brought the thought of Zim and his mission to her mind. She had been thinking of asking if she could help in the downfall of the human race. But, her shy ways were getting the best of her, so she kept her mouth shut.

_Keep holdin' on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through  
Just, stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you  
I'm here for you_

Zim turned the ship slightly, he was heading back. He originally took Ember for her to see the stars clearer. But now he was thinking of asking her to join him in his mission. He wanted to ask, but the child had so much going on in her life, that he didn't want to add on to it.

_There's nothing you can say  
Nothing you can do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So, keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through_

_Hear me when I say  
When I say I believe  
Nothing's gonna change  
Nothing's gonna change destiny_

_Whatever's meant to be  
Will work out perfectly  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.._

_La da da da, la da da da da  
La da da da da da da da da_

Ember felt the ship turn; she didn't complain, she was starting to feel tired. She merely just laid her head back and closed her eyes.

_Keep holdin' on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you  
I'm here for you_

Zim glanced at Ember as he saw his base come into view. He smiled slightly when he saw the peaceful look on her face.

_There's nothing you can say  
Nothing you can do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So, keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through_

The ship jerked as it landed on the landing pad. The tops of the base closed and the light from the stars and moon disappeared.

_Ahh, ahh  
Ahh, ahh  
Keep holdin' on  
Ahh, ahh  
Ahh, ahh_

Zim popped the lid open and jumped out, he looked at Ember.

_Keep holdin' on  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So, keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through_

Ember had opened her eyes when the ship jerked. She was now fully alert; she jumped out right after Zim had and Gir followed.

"Thanks" She whispered to Zim, sleep once again taking control.

"No problem" Zim said, he escorted Ember back to the elevator.

The door slid closed, and the hallway soon appeared. Zim stepped out with Ember and Gir behind him.

Ember walked up to the door to the room that she was sure that she could now call her's. She looked over at Zim and smiled, then disappeared into her room.

Zim just watched her as she walked inside; he sighed and walked past the door and out of the hallway. He walked into the kitchen and flushed himself down to his labs.

Gir sat in front of the T.V to watch some loud, colorful, and happy show. The radio was in his hands, turned off.

--

Far away a large ship floated through space; two beings talked to each other as they sat back in their chairs.

"I'm tired of waiting! I don't want to hear Zim's voice ever again!"

"Patience….the time has almost come…"

---

Okay there's Chapter 16…..sorry it took so long.

I didn't really plan this chapter in advance…so I had difficulty typing it. So just think that Dib already knows everything about Zim, and Zim has already done everything that he would have if this was the show….(I really want to get into the is next part of the story…)

Now I'm gonna think of what to do with my other story "The Wolf Boy Brothers" I'm not sure if I should continue it or not…since the characters are originally from an RP I've started with my friends on another site…


	17. Haunting of the past

invaderzimfannumber1: Aw man….I knew I should have tried harder when trying to find the scripts to the unaired episodes. I remember reading the script to The Trial, but that was a while ago and now I can't remember where I saw it. Also, I love watching Invader Zim episodes with commentary, but I can never remember what Jhonen and the others said… (With the exception of Zim Eats Waffles). I was thinking of those two episodes cuz they showed more of the base…oh well.

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs. I am not claiming that I do.

---

Chapter 17: Haunting of the past.

Ember awoke; her face was drenched in a cold sweat. She had another nightmare, but this one seemed tamer and a lot less violent then the other.

She sat up and looked around; the room was dark, the only light coming from the cracks of the door. She could hear loud, annoying music coming from the living room and knew that it must be Gir watching one of his eerily happy TV shows.

Ember reached over and turned on the small lamp on the table by her bed.

The room was flooded with light; those shadows that plagued Ember's dreams vanished. She pulled off the covers and got off the bed. She walked over to the door as it slid open; walking out, Ember had to blink her eyes several times to get adjusted to the even brighter light of the hallway.

Zim had made it so the couch and the door to the hallway could both be out at the same time. It took Gir screaming and crying because he couldn't sit on his favorite spot couch while watching the Angry Monkey Show, to make him figure out that all he needed to do was slide the couch over and move the chair where the phone used to be.

Ember walked out; she saw Gir sitting on the couch with a rubber piggy sitting next to him.

"Hey Gir, where's Zim?" Ember asked; she sat on the other side of Gir so she wouldn't disturb his friend.

"Masters in the lab." The little robot said, and then pointed at the floor towards where the main lab would have been underground.

Ember nodded and looked towards the kitchen. She decided to just hang out with Gir until Zim came back up. Despite him being really annoying and loud sometimes…well most of the time, Ember liked Gir. He reminded her of the little brother she could and would never have.

Ember looked at the window; she guessed it was 11:00am. She sighed, it was Sunday, and Sunday was the only day separating freedom from torture at skool.

Gir kept his blue eyes glued to the TV screen; it would take a very gifted (and unlucky) person to get Gir to look at and pay attention to them.

The sound of Zim walking through the kitchen and standing in the doorway was heard. He was about to say something but was pounced upon by Gir.

"GIR! Get off me!" Zim yelled; he was struggling to get Gir to stop clinging to the top of his head. He failed, Gir stuck to him like his eyes did to the TV screen a few seconds before.

Ember watched this for a good three minutes before laughing a little and getting up. She grabbed Gir by the waist and pulled him off of Zim. As soon as he was set on the floor, he ran to his rubber piggy and ran off with it into the kitchen.

Zim walked up to Ember; he was feeling a bit dizzy from have a small robot pounce onto his head for about the fourth time since meeting Gir.

"Thanks"

"No problem. But I do think it's cute how Gir is so attached to you."

"It's not really cute Ember, Gir shouldn't act like that, he's a SIR Unit…most SIR Units don't act like that."

"So…who gave you Gir? Couldn't you just tell them and—"

"No! I would never bother the Tallests with something as pointless as that! Besides, Gir isn't that bad…I guess."

"The Tallests?"

"My great leaders"

"Oh….so what do you want to do today?"

Zim was about to say something when the talk of his leaders reminded him of something. "The Tallests! I haven't called them in a while!" He turned and ran into the kitchen. "I'll be back! Go to the park without me!" Was heard before the sounds of Zim flushing himself down to his labs.

Ember sighed and walked to the door. She opened the door and looked back; Gir was busy making something, so he probably wouldn't be coming. She walked out and closed the door behind her.

She looked down at the ground; hearing cars zoom by and people walking by and around her. She saw the tall pointed gates of the park's entrance come up fast.

Walking into the park, Ember passed a black car.

The two detectives in the car chatted with each other, but the minute she walked by, their eyes never left Ember.

"That her?" One asked; his eyes still fixed on Ember.

"I think so." The other said, he looked down at a skool picture of Ember that was kept in an envelope on the dashboard. "Yep" He finally said once observing the picture more carefully.

They opened their doors and got out, slamming the doors behind them. They walked into the park, trying to spot Ember.

Ember was sitting at a table; she was listening to a song when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She paused the song and turned around.

"Excuse me, but are you Ember?"

"Yes…" She knew who these people were and why they came up to her. She wanted to run back to the comforting surroundings of Zim's base. But she knew that not only would that make everything worse, but she might lead them to Zim without his disguise on.

"Do you mind telling us where you were on Friday the 13th?" They closed in on her.

Ember looked down at the ground; she felt tears coming, but she held them in. "Look, I'm not gonna lie. I was at home and I was there when my father was shot. But—"She looked up and stared one of the detectives in the eye. "him getting shot was not my fault! He pulled the gun on me, do you want me to show you the cuts and bruises that I have on my back and face because of what he did?!"

Ember pointed at one of the several bandages on her face.

The detectives were shocked, they were also disgusted that this girl would actually lie to them after killed her father in cold blood.

"Okay, why don't you say that down at headquarters?" One detective said as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He made a move to grab Ember by the wrist, but she jumped off the bench and bolted.

Ember was scared; she didn't want to be separated from Zim. She was also mad, how dare they not believe a 10 year old girl?!

She jumped through bushes and jumped over swings. The detectives were fast, but even they couldn't keep up with a 10 year old girl who had a long history of having to jump and run through obstacles to try to get away from Torque.

A huge gust of wind ripped through the trees as the sky produced rain drops.

Ember had a hard time seeing due to the heavy winds, but she kept running. The detectives were closing in, but a hard kick from a kid swinging on a swing knocked one of them out. The other raced on.

Ember saw her chance and ran up to an old tire swing; she grabbed it and pulled it back. She released it and practically threw it at the other detective.

He was hit hard in the mouth and crashed to the ground. Ember ran and slipped through the back entrance of the park.

Tears were streaming down her face, but she knew Zim could help. Ember ran the entire way home; she ran up the walkway and opened the door.

The living room had an eerie silence to it; the sound of something zooming past overhead, through the sky, and dissapearing was heard. Ember thought it was a low flying plane; but that didn't sound right, planes didn't sound like that, neither did helicopters.

She closed the door behind her and walked to the couch. "Zim…Gir?" Ember thought maybe Zim had already left and that he had taken Gir with him, but she had the feeling that she was dead wrong.

Just then, Gir came running out of the kitchen and hugged her tight; he was crying heavily. "They took my master!" He cried, he looked up at Ember with tears streaming down his face.

"What?" Ember gently pulled Gir away and knelt down to eye level with him.

"Some bad Irkens came and took him….they said it was time for his trial!"

Ember felt tears streaming down her face. 'What?! Why…what did Zim do?' She thought, she then pulled Gir into a comforting embrace.

She guided him to the couch and they sat down. Gir accidently kicked the radio that was lying on the floor and it got turned on.

A song that seemed to fit the mood filled the room as its soft lyrics started to play.

_Na na, na na na, na na  
I miss you, miss you so bad  
I don't forget you, oh it's so sad  
I hope you can hear me  
I remember it clearly_

Ember held Gir as he cried; she knew that he wasn't over exaggerating, Zim would have returned by now.

_The day you slipped away  
Was the day I found it won't be the same  
Ooooh_

All Ember wanted to see at that moment was Zim walking into the living room from the kitchen or hallway. All she wanted to hear was his evil-like laugh or his comforting voice; hell, even hearing him yell would have been a thing that would have made her feel better.

_Na na na na na na na_

_I didn't get around to kiss you  
Goodbye on the hand  
I wish that I could see you again  
I know that I can't_

Gir continued to cry, his tears left wet streaks down Ember's black shirt. It had grey lines going across it; it looked a lot like Zim's uniform, only black. Zim had given it to her because her other shirt was ruined because of the glass bits and rain water.

_Oooooh  
I hope you can hear me cause I remember it clearly_

_The day you slipped away  
Was the day I found it won't be the same  
Ooooh_

_I had my wake up  
Won't you wake up  
I keep asking why  
And I can't take it  
It wasn't fake  
It happened, you passed by_

Ember heard the strong gusts of wind and the sounds of raindrops hitting the glass of the windows. And to think that all she thought about a while ago was having Zim comfort her; she felt selfish.

_Now you are gone, now you are gone  
There you go, there you go  
Somewhere I can't bring you back  
Now you are gone, now you are gone  
There you go, there you go,  
Somewhere you're not coming back_

_The day you slipped away_  
_Was the day I found it won't be the same now..  
The day you slipped away  
Was the day that I found it won't be the same oooh..._

_Na na, na na na, na na  
I miss you_

As the song faded; Ember reached down and turned the radio off. She and Gir were still crying but Ember knew that she had to do something. Even if she was just a human.

---

Wow, this turned out longer then I thought….Anyway, I feel kinda awkward doing a Christmas story well after Christmas…oh well.

Also, it seems to me that Gir was a lot smarter in that situation then he would have been in the series.....but, he did have his smart moments in the show. *thinking about Walk For Your Lives* lol...

Next chapter should be up soon…


	18. True loyalty to a true friend

I'm on this computer at 5:00 in the morning…my first day back to that horrible skool I go to starts in 2 and a half hours…and I'm not supposed to even be typing this, but I just really wanted to get this chapter done.

invaderzimfannumber1: Thank you for the link :) I was having trouble remembering what happened in The Trial.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or the songs. I am not claiming that I do.

---

Chapter 18:

Ember sat there; the only sounds in the room were Gir's crying sounds. The song had long since ended; and her thoughts were starting to get the best of her.

'It's your fault! If you hadn't asked about his leaders, Zim would have gone to the park with you, and this entire thing would have never happened!'

That thought screamed and repeated itself in her mind. She was about to scream herself when a voice from below saved her at the last minute.

"What are we going to do?" Gir asked, his tears were slowly starting to stop. He looked up at Ember with hopeful eyes.

"I…Gir, what happened after I left?" Ember just didn't have the heart to tell him that she had absolutely no idea of how she was going to fix this. Ember released Gir and looked down at him.

"Well…master came up all mad then something happened, then a really quiet moment….then I don't know…I ran away cuz master told me to…" Gir was starting to sound like that adorable little demented robot with the mind of a four year old again, but he looked down in sadness as he said the last part of his explanation.

"Uh…" Ember muttered in confusion, and then a voice coming from the ceiling made her jump, Ember looked up.

"_**I believe I could help with that**__._" A deep computer like voice said, it extended a small TV screen from the ceiling and the scene of what had happened to Zim started to play as though it was recorded from a camera inside a top corner of the base, and it switched from angle to angle to see in detail what was going on.

It showed Zim walking through the kitchen to the living room. Like Gir said, Zim appeared to be angry and was muttering to himself. He stopped; he clenched his fists and looked like he was about to scream or cry.

But a loud humming sound stopped him; he looked up as Gir ran to his side. A bright, white flash surrounded the entire room as two Irkens appeared in front of Zim. They were much taller than him, wearing what appeared to be high collared shirts that covered half of their faces. It appeared as though they had teleported into the room. They were holding long staffs that seemed as if they were used to shock somebody.

"Irken Zim, you have been accused for being a defect. You must come with us to await your trial to defend your life." The one on the left said calmly and without feeling.

Zim looked down at the ground, he looked down at Gir who was hiding behind him. "Gir…leave, go to the kitchen." Zim said quietly, he didn't want Gir to see his master get sent away.

Gir did as he was told for once and left in a quiet manner. He disappeared into the kitchen.

Zim watched as Gir left, he then looked up at the taller Irkens and said "Can I at least wait until my friend gets back so I could say goodbye?" He said it quietly, not wanting to be hurt if he says something with an attitude.

"NO!" They yelled in unison; they took a step towards Zim. The camera changed its angel to show that Zim had a tears building up in his eyes. He looked to the side, then at the door. He tried to run to the door, but was stopped when he got a sharp and painful shock on his PAK.

He fell to the floor and was grabbed roughly by the wrist and pulled up, he was dragged to the center of the living room. The Irken that wasn't holding him pushed a button on his wrist and a beam of made them vanish.

Just as the light faded, Ember came running through the door.

The screen went black and it retracted back into the ceiling. Ember never took her eyes off that screen; she had fresh tears on her in her eyes and going down her face.

"So….there's nothing I can do to save him?" She said while looked up to where she heard the computer's voice.

"_**Well…..there is one way….it's extremely dangerous and risky…but it's possible that you can still catch up to the Massive if you take the Voot Cruiser**_."

"It's worth a shot!" Ember said in a bravery filled voice, she moved away from Gir and ran to the door. It slid open and she ran through the hallway and towards the elevator. That also slid open, it closed as Gir walked in and it started to go up.

"_**But Ember….the Massive won't be easy to get into, it has heavy security both inside and out. Even if you do get inside unseen, it will be extremely unlikely that they will even look at a human much less listen to one**_**.**"

"I don't care! Zim saved me…so I'm gonna save him. Besides…he's my best friend!" The elevator stopped where the Voot Cruiser was kept Ember ran out and headed for it. Gir was by her side, the radio was in his hands. A song started to play as he turned it on.

_Countless eyes are watching  
in this our finest hour  
it's time to realize the dream  
and who we really are  
_

Gir ran ahead of Ember and popped the windshield up on the Voot Cruiser. Ember jumped in and looked at the controls in front of her.

_I'm gonna freeze this space and time  
rise to meet the call  
seize the moment, make it mine  
and through it all_

The windshield closed and she pressed a button that she saw Zim press. It started up and started to float up.

_straight as the arrow flies  
I'll run toward the finish line  
with all the strength I've found  
my feet won't touch the ground  
I will scale the heights if i believe  
your wings of faith will carry me  
I'll go the distance just to reach  
the arms I'm running to  
I'll go the extra mile for you_

Gir watched her; he had his radio in his lap.

Ember began to feel nervous; she never drove a car much less an alien spacecraft! She didn't want to crash and lose all chances of saving Zim.

_I know it won't be easy  
to make you understand  
I wanna take the glory  
and put it in your hands_

_cuz you're the light that makes me shine  
you're the hero in my eyes  
win or lose, do or die  
I'm aimin' high_

_straight as the arrow flies  
I'll run toward the finish line  
with all the strength I've found  
my feet won't touch the ground  
I will scale the heights if I believe  
your wings of faith will carry me  
I'll go the distance just to reach  
the arms I'm running to  
I'll go the extra mile for you_

She grabbed the steering wheel and pulled up, despite it looking extremely difficult to control, it was much easier than it looked.

The roof opened up and she flew it up and out of the base.

_(go the extra mile) in the end  
(go the extra mile) I wanna be able to say  
I gave all of me for the world to see  
and I would do it all again  
I'd go the extra mile for you_

The sky had turned dark and the stars were starting to appear.

'Good, at least people won't be able to notice this thing flying in the sky as easily in the dark.' Ember thought, coordinates to the Massive appeared on the windshield like a map. She looked at it carefully and it disappeared.

_Straight as the arrow flies  
I'll run toward the finish line  
with all the strength I've found  
my feet won't touch the ground_

"Wow…the Massive must be pretty big if it completely blocks out Jupiter and Saturn." Ember glanced at Gir. Gir looked at her with confusion in his eyes. Ember sighed and said "Never mind…"

_I will scale the heights if I believe  
your wings of faith will carry me  
I'll go the distance just to reach  
the arms I'm running to  
I'll go the extra mile for you_

_knowin' it would be worthwhile  
I would go the extra mile for you_

The song ended and Gir turned it off.

The sky grew darker and darker as they got closer and closer to the ozone layer. As they passed through Earth's atmosphere, Ember could see a huge pinkish red ship even where they were.

'….This is not going to be easy…' Ember thought as they passed the moon.

---

I got caught typing this right as I finished the first sentence….I'm surprised that I didn't get in trouble. I think my mom was still half asleep when she saw me.

This turned out a lot shorter then I wanted it to be…but I'm running out of time, and I really want to post a chapter tonight…oh well.


	19. Hope, Guilt, and a Flashback

invaderzimfannumber1: You're right; The Trial did take place on Planet Jugmentia. Originally, I was going to have it take place there…but then I realized that it take WAY too long just for Ember to get there and she would most likely get there too late. I don't think they would postpone the trial for more than 6 months, since it did take Zim six months to go from whatever planet he was on in the first episode all the way to Earth. Plus, I really like the Massive :) And, it does look hard to drive the Voot Cruiser, but when I was typing that part, I was thinking about what my friend's brother said, he said that driving a car was a lot easier than it looked (at least to him). I thought I could apply that concept to the story.

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the songs…any smart person can see that I'm just applying them in a multi-chapter story and not trying to make money.

---

Chapter 19: Hope, guilt, and a flashback.

Zim was in a cold jail cell, he sat in a corner in the shadows so no one could see him. His face showed obvious signs of betrayal and anger, but inside he felt guilty and sad.

Anger from what was happening to him, guilty from not saying goodbye to Ember, sad from knowing that he was going to die without him letting Ember know how he truly felt, and…betrayal…

_-Flashback-_

_As he walked towards the big screen in his lab, the images of his two leaders appeared before him._

"_My Tallests! It's not often that YOU call ME!" Zim said excitedly, he calmed down and said "So I--" He was cut off by Tallest Purple._

"_Wait! There's a reason why we called you!" Purple glanced at Tallest Red as he started to speak._

"_You're not really an Invader Zim! We lied…" Red looked away from the screen, he looked back and hesitated before continuing. "You do nothing but destroy everything you can get your hands on…and you've done nothing but cause the Irken race pain and misery since the day you were born!" Red finished, he was already losing his usual sense of being calm and was starting to get angry as he remembered everything that Zim had done over the years._

"_You're going to be put on trial, two soldiers should be there soon to come drag you back to the Massive." Purple said; he had a very sly look on his face as he thought of Zim actually being killed._

"_WHAT!? But my Tallests…I--"Zim was once again cut off as the transmission was cut. He looked at the blank screen before turning calmly and walking back to the elevator._

_-End-_

'How could they say that? How…can they do this?! I've always been loyal to the Tallests…I've always tried my best…' Zim thought, he pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them.

---

As Ember flew closer to the Massive, she grew more nervous. She was beginning to see all the smaller ships surrounding it. She wished that she could listen to a song, but the radio no longer worked now that they were far away from the reach of any satellites and she didn't have her headphones with her. They had fallen out of her pocket while Ember was running away from the detectives. But she was glad that the Zune didn't fall out as with them.

She sighed as she took out her Zune from her pants pocket; Gir looked at her, he then made a quick grab for the Zune and took it out of her hand.

"Lemme see that." Gir said as he took out a small, pretty much useless wire out of his head.

Ember glanced at Gir a few times as he played with the wire and attached it to the Zune where the plug for the headphones was. He attached the other end to a plug on the radio where you could also plug in headphones.

"There!" He shouted in a happy, loud voice. Ember took the Zune from his hand and turned it on, she picked a song and it started to play through the radio like it was a speaker system.

_I was lost  
And you were found  
You seemed to stand on solid ground _

Ember listened to the song, amazed at what Gir had done. "Wow Gir…that was impressive…" Ember looked at Gir.

"Master showed me how to do that!" Gir looked back, he had a big smile on his face, and his tongue was sticking out.

_I was weak  
And you were strong  
And me and my guitar,  
we strummed along, oh_

Ember looked away from Gir; this song was starting to make her think of Zim. She was once again starting to feel guilty for not at least not staying with him.

'Maybe….if I had stayed…I could have at least said goodbye…' She shook that thought away and started to once again concentrate. She needed to have a plan for when she got close enough to get into the Massive.

_Sweet misery you cause me  
That's what you called me  
Sweet misery you cause me_

_I was blind  
But oh, how you could see  
You saw the beauty in everything, everything and me_

As the song went on, Ember was having a harder and harder time concentrating on making a plan. She felt tears build up in her eyes, but she blinked them away.

_I would cry  
And you would smile  
You'd stay with me a little while_

Those last lyrics made her think of that night when her father was shot. It brought back memories of her waking up to the sight of Zim sitting there, watching over her, and the feeling of warmth and comfort as he held her hand. Also, the memories of her crying and telling Zim what had happened and him just holding her and listening.

_Sweet misery you cause me  
That's what you called me  
Sweet misery you cause me_

_And in my heart I see, oh  
What you're doing to me  
And in my heart I see, oh  
Just how you wanted it to be  
Sweet misery_

She couldn't help but think about how she might never see Zim again, that she might fail and get caught, that she might fail Zim.

_Oh, whoa_

_Sweet misery you cause me  
That's what you called me  
Sweet misery you cause me_

Suddenly, Ember couldn't keep it bottled up in her any longer, silent tears started to pour from her eyes. She looked down at her lap as she listened to the song, she watched as the tears dripped off of her cheeks, tips of her nose, and chin and made small wet spots on her jeans.

_And in my heart I see, oh  
What you're doing to me  
And in my heart I see, oh_

Ember didn't notice Gir watching her.

A silent "Aww…" was heard from Gir. He reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Ember looked down at Gir and put an arm over his shoulders. "Thank you Gir…."

Gir smiled as he hugged Ember's waist, he looked up with that same goofy smile. Ember laughed a little and hugged back with her one arm.

_  
Just how you wanted it to be  
Sweet misery_

_I was weak  
And you were strong  
And me and my guitar,  
we strummed along_

Gir let go and settled back into his spot, he looked out the window. He looked back and was about to pick a new song when Ember turned the Zune off.

He was about to start crying, but he stopped when he looked ahead. They were now almost right in front of the Massive.

'…No going back now…' Ember thought as she went around the Massive slowly to find an entrance and tried not be spotted or cause suspicion.

---

Zim looked up as he heard the loud creaking sounds of the door being swung open slowly. He straightened out his legs in front of him and sat up.

"Come…it's time Irken Zim." The guard took a step inside and towered over Zim even at that distance.

Zim looked down, refusing his urge to get that famous attitude of his and yell at how this whole thing was just stupid. He got up slowly and walked past the guard, who pushed him the rest of the way out of the cell.

"Hurry up!" Was the last thing said and heard as the cell door closed and banged shut. It was then left once again silent, dark, and empty.

---

Once again…a much shorter chapter than I expected and wanted…but that's okay. It sort of feels like this story is going by really fast….I'm starting to feel that….

I almost started to cry when I was typing this….just the thought of Zim being killed…(it brought back memories of when I actually did cry when I first found out about the unaired episode The Trial.) I found out that originally, Zim was going to die, but Nick wouldn't allow it. I cried at the thought of seeing Zim die….Yes! I cry over fictional characters….I would cry over anything that I liked, especially Zim!

Darn…I'm ranting again! Well…next chapter should be up soon :)


	20. Confessions and a final hug and song

invaderzimfannumber1: Was it 10 Minutes to Doom? You're right….I knew it was one of those episodes…Oh yeah, now I remember, Nick didn't want Jhonen to kill Zim off; they wanted to keep the possibilities open in case they decided to go on with the show. Also, I should probably pay more attention in the first episode…I completely space out until the scene where Zim arrives…then maybe I would have heard that the planet was called Convincia. And I always thought that Judgementia was way out there…I thought it was near Irk, but not close to Earth.

ngrey651: Jhonen doesn't like hugs? Hmm…can't say that I didn't expect that. With all the crazy fangirls out there (me included) I'm not really surprised. …I hate it when people say that he hates his fans…yes, he gets easily annoyed by a lot of them. But I think that if he truly hated his fans, he wouldn't have gone to all those interviews, done commentary for the Invader Zim DVDs, or even gone to Comic Con.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the songs. I am not claiming that I do.

---

Chapter 20: Confessions and a final hug and song.

Ember watched as all or most of the surrounding ships went through a teleporters underneath the Massive.

((I'm not sure if there's a teleporter on the Massive or not; but hey, it works.))

She drove the ship behind the crowd towards the many satellites that unfolded underneath, shooting a light purple beam. Ember tried to look like she had done this many times before, but she was having a hard time.

She went slowly, making sure that she went in last. As soon as the last ship went through, she drove towards the light.

Before she knew it, she and Gir were inside a what looked like a huge parking garage. She landed in a place close to a corner, in the shadows.

Ember popped open the windshield and she got out with Gir following. She closed it and looked around; the place was quiet and appeared to be empty.

She stayed in the shadows with Gir by her side; she took several side steps, walking along the smooth wall. She managed to stay within the shade, not knowing if walking in plain view was really a good idea.

The giant door closed as she walked through it; the halls were also empty, and they reminded her of the ones at skool only bigger and pink. She saw that every door was closed, except for one, which was open fully and light and sound was coming from inside it.

Gir was about to run towards the door but was quickly grabbed and forced back by Ember. He was held by the hand as she guided him near the door.

They both peered inside, once again covered by shadows. Ember was forced to keep her hand over Gir's mouth so he wouldn't shout in excitement.

---

Zim was standing on a large platform; he was standing before a single control brain.

((Yes…I know, in The Trial, there were 3 control brains, but 1 works too.))

He was looking down at the ground; the trial seemed to be almost over, the control brain seemed to be deep in thought over if Zim was guilty or not.

Suddenly, the platform Zim was on gave way; he was then caught by two thick, metal wires that attached themselves to his PAK.

"_**Irken Zim! You have been found guilty for being a defect!"**_It said in a cold robotic like voice._ "__**Your PAK will be deactivated!**__" _

Zim was then lowered close to the ground, allowing him to be seen by the people watching in the stands.

Zim looked up, misery in his eyes as he saw the Tallests laughing down at him. He looked down and waited for the sting of the shocks that will disable his PAK and the cold feelings of death.

Just as the Control Brain was about to send out the shocks, someone yelled.

"NO!! DON'T!!" Ember ran through the door, she ran through the isle towards Zim.

Gir hesitated then followed.

Hushed whispers and gasps echoed throughout the stands where the other Irkens were.

Zim looked up, at first he couldn't believe his eyes. He watched as the female human that he came to trust so much ran towards him with tears in her eyes.

Ember stopped when she came close to Zim. She hesitated before kneeling to the ground and hugging him; Zim was a few inches off the ground, so her head only came to his chest, but she didn't care.

"Zim…" She said, allowing the tears to fall down her face; her fingers brushed past Zim's PAK and the two wires, she was careful to not drag Zim down.

"Ember…how did you get here?" Zim asked quietly, he looked down at her, not hugging back.

"I…I used your Voot Cruiser…Gir and your base's computer helped me. Oh Zim, I…I just don't want you to leave me…" Ember said, looking up at Zim.

"Who is this….person Zim?" Red asked, his face showed anger, but his voice had traces of surprise. He looked down at Ember, not really knowing what she was.

"She…she's my friend…" Zim said, he looked up at Tallest Red, then back down at Ember.

Ember released Zim, but she stayed kneeling; Gir was standing next to her, he wasn't sure what to do.

Red stayed quiet; he glanced at Tallest Purple, then back down at Zim.

Gir looked at Zim and Ember; he got a happy smile on his face and took out the radio and Zune that was in his head.

He turned on the Zune and picked a random song, one that just so happened to fit the mood.

_I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky_

_And I swear like the shadow that's by your side_

Ember looked down Gir, then back up at Zim. Her tears were still falling, "Zim…" she said, hesitating.

_I see the questions in your eyes_

_I know what's weighing on your mind_

_You can be sure I know my heart_

She looked down, and then once again hugged Zim. "I…I think I love you…" She said, tears falling faster than ever.

_`Cuz I'll stand beside you through the years_

_You'll only cry those happy tears_

_And though I make mistakes_

_I'll never break your heart_

Zim looked down at Ember, her last statement surprised him. He too hesitated, then he hugged back, smiling down at Ember.

The Tallests looked at each other, they, along with everyone else in the room could hear the song. They looked behind them to see a few Irkens tearing up at the sight before them.

_And I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky_

_I'll be there_

_I swear, like a shadow that's by your side_

_I'll be there_

Gir sat next to Ember, he listened to the song closely.

_For better or worse, till death do us part_

_I'll love you with every beat of my heart_

_And I swear_

_I'll give you everything I can_

_I'll build your dreams with these two hands_

_We'll hang some memories on the walls_

Zim glanced down, away from Ember. "Ember…I…I think I love you too…" He said quietly, his eyes once again returning to Ember.

_And when just the two of us are there_

_You won't have to ask if I still care_

_`Cuz as the time turns the page, my love won't age at all_

Ember looked into Zim's eyes; she saw her brown and blue eyes' reflection in his beautiful orb shaper, red ones.

_And I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky_

_I swear (and I swear) like the shadow that's by your side_

_I'll be there_

Ember hugged Zim tighter and pressed her cheek to his shirt. She smiled, still looking up at Zim with tears still streaming down her cheeks.

Zim looked down at Ember; he hugged back, just as tight as Ember did. He felt tears build up in his eyes, and then roll down his face.

_For better or worse, till death do us part_

_I'll love you with every beat of my heart_

_And I swear_

The Tallests watched this; both their expressions went from Angry, to annoyed, to pity, then finally to sadness. They looked at each other, and then back down at Zim and Ember.

Gir got up and joined in the hug, he had his eyes closed and smiled with his tongue sticking out. He then let go and looked up at his master.

_I swear (I swear) by the moon and stars in the sky_

_I'll be there_

_I swear like the shadow that's by your side_

_I'll be there_

"Please…don't leave me Zim…you're the only person who truly understands me." Ember said, her cheek still pressed against Zim's shirt.

Zim sighed and looked away; he blinked hard, trying to keep more tears from falling. "I'm sorry Ember…it's not my decision. He moved his hand to Ember's chin; he made her look at him. He then used his other hand to wipe away some of the tears on her cheeks.

"Kick Dib's butt for me…okay? And don't let those other filthy humans push you around…" He said, he then moved his hands from Ember's chin and face and hugged her tight once more.

_For better or worse, till death do us part_

_I'll love you with every (single) beat of my heart_

_I swear, I swear,_

_Oh... I ... swear..._

As the song ended, it echoed and bounced off the walls of the big room. It was once silent; no one wanted to say anything.

Most Irkens had tears in their eyes; even the Tallests had their heads down, they looked guilty and ashamed.

The Control Brain stayed silent, it too not knowing what to do.

Zim and Ember continued to embrace each other, not wanting to let the other go.

The Tallests looked up and at each other. "Well?" Tallest Purple asked his co-Tallest quietly.

Tallest Red looked down, then finally at the two beings hugging and crying. "Well….." He turned away.

---

What's going to happen to Zim? What will be the Tallests decision, will they reconsider the verdict?

Find out in the next chapter….which should be up very soon. :)


	21. Seeing changes

I forgot to say last chapter that I actually did start crying. Not only because of what I was typing, but also because of the song. It's called "I Swear" by All-4-One; it's such a beautiful song, I cry every time I hear it, no joke. I listen to every song I put into my chapters as I'm typing that chapter, just to get into the mood, so I guessed that song would have been really great for the last chapter.

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the songs…I'm not claiming that I do.

---

Chapter 21: Seeing changes.

Everyone seemed to be staring up at Tallest Red. Even Zim and Ember awaited his decision; they looked up, tears were still in Ember's eyes, and Zim still had his arms wrapped loosely around Ember.

Red looked around, he started to feel the pressure. He looked down at Zim and Ember, fixing his stare on Ember's eyes. He noticed her tears, suddenly getting a feeling of deep guilt.

He looked away, he glanced at Tallest Purple; he sighed after looking away.

Looking up, Red suddenly lost all traces of regret and guilt. He turned back to a guard near the entrance. "Guard!" He shouted in a cold voice.

The guard (who strangely wasn't there a few minutes ago) looked up, he started towards where Ember was kneeling. Another guard joined him.

The two walked up behind Ember, one of them grabbed her arms. The other watched, making sure his partner could fully contain the human; he grabbed Gir.

"ZIM!" Ember shouted as she was grabbed and forced up. She was forced to walk backwards as the guard dragged her away from Zim.

Zim watched; he looked away with a look of depression in his eyes. He sighed and said in a quiet voice "I'm sorry Ember…"

Purple stood up in surprise; he leaned on the railing that was in front of him and watched the scene below with his mouth wide open. He looked at Red in disbelief. "How could you…." Purple stopped, a hand gesture from Red told him to "Shut up".

Red glanced at Purple then looked down at Zim. He looked to where the Control Brain was.

The Control Brain seemed to stare at him, watching every one of Red's movements. It saw as Red nodded, then smiled slightly.

"_**Very Well…**_" It said, and then gave out a disappointed sigh. Humming sounds seemed to come from it, sounds that you would hear from a computer that was having a hard time downloading something.

The metal wires that were attached to Zim's PAK detached themselves and retracted back in the Control Brain.

Zim fell and landed on his stomach. He got up and brushed himself off; he looked up at the Tallest that set him free.

"Gottcha" Was all that Red said before once again looked back to the guard holding Ember back. He nodded his head, signaling Ember's release.

The guard released Ember, standing back as she bolted towards Zim.

Gir was also released, but he decided to just walk back to his master.

Ember grabbed Zim in a tight hug as soon as she got to him. She was happy that her fingers didn't brush past those harsh, cold wires again.

Zim hugged back; he didn't exactly know how she did it, but Ember had saved his life.

Ember pulled back, a warm smile on her face as Zim wiped away her tears.

Purple once again looked at Red; he looked back and smiled at Zim and Ember. He would never admit it, but he had a soft spot for happy endings, and he knew that Red did too.

"Well… Zim, you've only been shown as being a bigger defect than we originally thought. …But your friend has shown that you're not completely worthless after all…" Red had a sort of warmth in his voice.

"…Yeah yeah okay, you two got your happy ending…now get lost before I change my mind." Red said, his voice getting its calm and coldness back.

Zim pulled away from Ember upon hearing this, he grabbed Ember's hand and ran, pulling Ember with him.

Ember looked up at Red as she was being pulled. She mouthed the words "Thank you" to him, and then smiled a warm smile.

Red shrugged; he smiled back, but that smile was quickly erased as he looked away.

Zim and Ember disappeared as they turned the corner to where Zim's Voot Cruiser was; Gir followed, catching up to them with the radio and Zune in his hands.

Ember lead the way to the Voot Cruiser, she stopped and let Zim lead the rest of the way.

Zim ran up to it and popped open the windshield; he got in and waited for Ember and Gir. As soon as they had their spots in the Voot Cruiser, he closed the windshield and away they went.

Ember was surprised; she almost couldn't believe what she had done. But when she told herself what exactly Zim meant to her, she accepted it. Ember closed her eyes and laid her head back; she was very tired.

Zim glanced at Ember, he saw changes in her. Instead of seeing that shy human girl that he had met at least a week ago, he saw a strong, determined girl. He saw someone who could do anything with the right motivation and the right friends. And more importantly, he saw the person that he knew that he loved and would always trust.

He sighed and looked back to the starry atmosphere that was in front of and all around him. They were approaching Earth fast; its beautiful blue and green colors starting to show themselves off in the vast universe of black and shining stars.

As the Voot Cruiser flew near the familiar scenery of Zim's cul-de-sac, Zim got a feeling of actual happiness.

Ember opened her eyes as the brightness of the outside world disappeared, and the darkness of the top of Zim's base covered her.

The windshield popped open and Zim got out with Gir following him. Ember rubbed her eyes and climbed out, she looked around, glad that she was once again in comfortable surroundings.

All three walked out, heading for the elevator.

Before either knew it, they were sitting on the couch, a feeling that nothing had happened came over them.

Gir jumped off the couch and headed for the kitchen; disappearing.

Zim and Ember were left alone, both not really wanting to say anything. Both were exhausted and laid back.

Ember shivered, the night was cold, and midnight was fast approaching.

Zim looked at Ember; he put an arm around her, trying to keep her warm.

Ember leaned close to Zim; she laid her head on Zim's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Zim held Ember tight; he was about to close his eyes when he saw Gir come in and set the radio down. He took the Zune away and turned the radio on; he retreated back into the kitchen as a song started to play.

_We were drawn from the weeds  
We were brave like soldiers  
Falling down under the pale moonlight  
You were holding to me  
Like a someone broken  
And I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now_

This song made Zim thing of the past events; he knew that Ember was already sound asleep; he wondered what she was dreaming about.

_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart  
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down_

_Fall on me  
Tell me everything you want me to be  
Forever with you forever in me  
Ever the same_

The song was quiet and calm; Zim closed his eyes. He held Ember closer; hearing her steady and calm breathing.

_We would stand in the wind  
We were free like water  
Flowing down  
Under the warmth of the sun  
Now it's cold and we're scared  
And we've both been shaken  
Hey, look at us  
Man, this doesn't need to be the end_

Exhaustion was starting to get the best of Zim; he now couldn't open his eyes, they were too heavy.

_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart  
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down_

_Fall on me tell me everything you want me to be  
Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same  
Call on me  
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me  
Forever it's you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

_You may need me there  
To carry all your weight  
But you're no burden I assure  
You tide me over  
With a warmth I'll not forget  
But I can only give you love_

_Fall on me tell me everything you want me to be  
Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same  
Call on me  
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me  
Forever it's you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same_

The song was coming to an end; both Ember and Zim were now sound asleep.

Ember's face was peaceful with a slight smile; tonight, there will be no nightmares or shadow like demons plaguing her mind.

_Forever with you  
Forever in me  
Ever the same(Ever the same)_

The song ended, its final lyrics fading and vanishing.

Gir came in and took his radio, turning it off. He looked at Zim and Ember and said "Aww…" quietly. He returned to the kitchen, grabbing his rubber piggy and walking out of the kitchen.

He sat and laid down on the other end of the couch and fell asleep.

---

YAY!! A happy chapter! But, this is not the end….1 more chapter.

Yes…now I know that Zim does not sleep…but I can't really change it now…and besides, I like the idea of Zim sleeping.

Next chapter should be up soon.


	22. Happy ending to a tragic beginning

Wow…never thought that I'd actually get to the last chapter. I'm glad that I actually found something that I won't quit at doing :) This chapter might be pretty short…but I think most people will be happy with the ending.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the songs. Trust me, if I owned Invader Zim or the songs…I'd be doing much more than just writing a fanfic with them.

---

Chapter 22: Happy ending to a tragic beginning.

Zim was the first to wake up; he found himself still having an arm around Ember, and Ember still sleeping against him.

He lifted his arm and tried to get up without disturbing his friend. He failed.

Ember's eyes slowly opened at the movement; she sat up and rubbed her eyes. She got up and looked at Zim.

Zim also got up; he looked over at Gir. "Get up Gir." He said in a slightly annoyed voice.

Gir opened his eyes; he looked around and his eyes landed on the window. He squealed, jumped off the couch, ran to the corner of the room and put on his dog suit, and then ran out the door.

Zim stayed where he was. He scratched his head and said in a confused voice "What's gotten into him?"

Ember turned her head to look out the window. She gasped and grabbed Zim's shoulder; she spun him around to look outside. "Zim…look!"

"Huh? What?"

Zim's eyes focused on the window; snow was falling and landing in a thick white blanket outside. Gir was seen running outside making snow angels.

"Computer…" Ember asked without looking away from the window.

"_**What??**_" It answered in a whiney tone.

"What day is today?"

"_**25**__**th**__** of December…**_"

Ember smiled; not only did she get her white Christmas, but also, she had a friend to share it with. No, a friend she loved to share it with.

At that moment, Gir came running in with snow all over him. He was laughing like an idiot and yelling "YAY!!" He tripped over the radio, turning in on.

_  
Na na na na  
Na na na na  
Yeah  
You are the music in me_

_You know the words "once upon a time"  
Makes you listen.  
There's a reason._

Ember looked back at Zim, only to find that he was now right next to her.

She walked towards the door and opened it; the cold air and freezing snow fell around her; she stayed in the doorway.

_When you dream there's a chance you'll find  
A little laughter or happy ever after  
Your harmony to the melody  
It's echoing inside my head_

Zim put on his disguise and stayed by Ember's side; watching the snow as it came down. He didn't want to admit it, but Earth did have its beautiful moments. Too bad most humans, besides Ember, couldn't put a halt in their busy lives and appreciate something that Irk wasn't lucky enough to have.

_A single voice (single voice)  
Above the noise  
And like a common thread  
Mmm, you're pullin' me_

_When I hear my favorite song  
I know that we belong  
Oh, you are the music in me  
Yeah it's living in all of us_

Ember leaned on the door frame; she still felt tired. It must have been 8:30 am, but she didn't care; she continued to watch the snow.

_Yeah it's brought us here because  
Because you are the music in me_

_Na na na na oh  
Na na na na  
Yeah yeah yeah (na na na na)  
You are the music in me  
It's like I knew you before we met (before we met)  
Can't explain  
There's no name for it (no name for it)_

Gir came running from the kitchen, dog suite still on. He ran up behind Zim and Ember; holding something in his hand.

_I'm saying words that I never said  
And it was easy (so easy)  
'Cause you see the real me (I see you)  
As I am  
You understand  
And that's more than we ever had._

Gir held up mistletoe above them, reaching to just barely over their heads. He stood there, waiting for them to notice.

_To hear your voice (hear your voice)  
Above the noise (ohh ohh)  
I know, I'm not alone  
Oh you're singing to me (ohh yeah)_

_When I hear my favorite song  
I know that we belong (yeah ohh)  
You are the music in me_

Zim looked up; followed by Ember.

"Gir…where did you get th--"Zim didn't finish, Ember kissed him on the cheek before he had the chance to.

_(Yeah) it's living in all of us  
And it's brought us here because  
You are the music in me_

It was just a little peck on the cheek. But it was enough to get Zim's attention; he looked at Ember and smiled.

Ember looked away and down, blushing.

_Together we're gonna sing (yeah)  
We've got the power to sing what we feel (what we feel)  
Connected and real_

_Can't keep it all inside (ohh)_

_Na na na na (ohh yeah)  
Na na na na (ohh yeah)  
Yeah yeah yeah (na na na na)  
You are the music in me (in me)_

"AWW!! You kissed master!!" Gir shouted in an excited and happy voice. He lowered the mistletoe and ran outside.

_Na na na na (ohh yeah)  
Na na na na (ohh yeah)  
Na na na na  
You are the music in me_

Zim watched as Gir ran off; he glanced at Ember.

He could hear the song behind him; he looked down and over at Ember.

_When I hear my favorite song (favorite song)  
I know that we belong (we belong)  
You are the music in me_

Ember was now staring at the snow.

She was surprised when she felt Zim kiss her on the cheek. It was just as little as her 's was; she looked over at Zim and smiled.

Zim was blushing a dark green color; he looked at Ember and returned the smile.

_It's living in all of us  
It's brought us here because (here because)  
You are the music in me_

_Na na na na (ohh yeah)  
Na na na na (ohh yeah)  
Na na na na  
You are the music in me (yeah)_

The song ended; the snow was starting to lighten up and stopped falling. It left behind a lot of snow; enough to make the kids and Gir happy.

Zim went back inside; leaving Ember in the doorway.

Ember continued to look outside; kids were starting to come out with their new snowboards and toys, paying no attention to the 10 year old lingering in the doorway of the green glowing house.

No doubt this was the best Christmas Ember had ever had; she started to recall all the past events of the last week. She and Zim went from untrusting acquaintances, to loving friends.

She had gone from a timid, shy, and quiet girl, to someone who could be counted on and someone who had confidence in herself.

Ember smiled as she took one last look at the snow and early morning before turning to go inside and closed the door behind her.

---

And…I guess that marks the ending of Music Based Friendship. And I know...a lot of people don't like HSM, but I thought that song was a good one of the final chapter. And....I like the song....

I will defiantly do a sequel, but it might take a while. My computer isn't working very well right now, I've been having to type and post the last few chapters at skool or the library.

I'm also going to be continuing my other story The Wolf Boy Brothers. Hopefully that story will be just as successful as this one.

Also, I will try to review the stories of everyone who reviewed my story, I was so busy with stuff that I couldn't, but I will now :) That might take a while too…both the skool and the library blocks reviewing stories or even reading them for some reason…but my friend is going to show me how to get around the blockage…


End file.
